Magina
by sasyst
Summary: Dota fanfiction: Magina is searching for the Invoker, the most powerful of mages. He Encounters him in one of the town wars, but the mage is not what he has expected...
1. Prolog

Dota

Magina

All Random

by Aditu

The town had two circles. An inner one, which was the safe zone, and an outer one, both surrounded by walls. In the outer circle was the heart of the town that held the town with all its buildings alive. It was guarded with two towers. Around the heart were several houses and barracks, all on higher ground than the area outside the town. The inner circle was only used by merchants and as regeneration point for the top soldiers, the heroes. The merchants sold mostly weapons and armour suited for everyone, who would fight for their home. And fighting they did.

They were in constant war with their neighbour town and had to defend themselves endlessly. So everyone, male or female, was trained to fight and then sent into battle. It was the only thing they could do, otherwise they would have nothing left. If the heart was destroyed, all buildings of the town would fall apart.

The main goal was to keep the heart of their town safe. And the second one was to attack the enemy, maybe even to destroy the heart of their town. But it was not easy. They had skilled fighters as well and it was an endless struggle, who would become victor of this war. You could not tell, who would win, because the two towns with their soldiers and heroes were equally strong. The balance of power always shifted a little. Depending on which hero was on the field and what items the heroes had been able to buy, the balance could shift with every fight. The heroes were hired from outside to support a town and its soldiers. Both towns were able to hire five heroes, whom they paid and who were resurrected inside of the safe zone with a delay, if they died in one of the fights.

At the present, both towns had still all their towers, in and around the high ground of the heart. There were three ways between the two towns and on each way were two towers of each party. And one more at the three entrances to the towns. If you wanted to destroy the heart you had to get the three towers on one way down and then the two in front of the heart. Five towers minimum. That was not easy to do, because they had some kind of self-defence system, which started firing, as soon as an enemy soldier got into range. Those shots hurt and could easily kill someone, if he or she wasn't strong enough.

Most times, two or three heroes would try to destroy a tower with some soldiers together, to divide the fire power between them all. That way everybody would get injured, but nobody would die. The problem here was, the enemy had soldiers as well, and heroes as strong. They had to kill them first, preferably not under the tower, but outside of its shooting range. Then they could destroy the building.

Well, it was not as easy as it sounded, obviously, since both towns still had all their towers.


	2. Chapter 1

Magina, the Anti-Mage, expelled the breath he had been holding. He hated when he couldn't choose with whom he would fight. He liked the wars between two towns, liked the fighting in this scenarios but sometimes his allies weren't what he would wish for. This time it seemed to be a good team, though, and he was relieved. He wasn't really strong at the beginning of such a war because he needed some items before he rocked in a fight. But that meant he needed a team, which could bypass the time until he was strong enough to participate in the fights. If his allies died all the time at the beginning, even equipped with the right items he couldn't win the war then anymore. But one of the heroes currently standing next to him inside the safe zone he knew to be a worthy ally and of two he had heard. The remaining one at least looked capable and the failures of one ally could be atoned for by the four others without difficulty, too. So he was definitely optimistic to win this war.

He nodded towards the hero he knew, a woman he had had the pleasure to fight with in one of his previous wars. The Drow Ranger was a night elven archer and a skilled one. Her skin was a light purple colour with a tattoo on her face. She was partially covered by dark armour, her feet and legs up to her thighs, her belly, breasts and lower body, her shoulders and her under arms. She wore a dark cape, the hood nearly hiding the white of her long hair. She had a beautiful, slender face, with a straight nose, elegant eyebrows and green eyes reflecting the colour of the forest on a sunny day, but her fierce expression indicated not to tell her any of that. Magina knew her skills included the ability to shoot frost arrows that slowed an enemy and a wave that rendered the enemy heroes unable to cast spells. They were silenced when the wave hit them. She was a carry, which meant that the items she would buy would define how much damage she would make. If she got enough money she would be able to deal a very high amount of damage, especially when using her frost arrows. Without those items she would be not worth much.

The two he had heard about were the Omniknight and the Butcher. They were both pretty easy to recognise as whom they were, especially the second one. Originally he must have been a man but now he was what his name applied: a butcher. In one hand he was clutching a meat hook and in the other a butcher axe, he even wore an apron around his hips. He was unbelievably ugly: big and meaty, his flesh wobbling with every step he took. He had several scars all over his body, the biggest one going from his right shoulder over his whole front, vanishing under his apron. The sides from the scar were held together rudimental with a few stiches of cord that didn't seal the wound properly, the red meat and inner organs underneath clearly visible. He was missing his nose, his eyes were white, though he was still able to see, and his jaw was somehow shifted too far forward, his teeth, yellow and bent, protruding over his upper lip. He was nearly bald, only a few hairs, green hairs, at the back of his head. His feet were bare and blood was all over him, on his weapons, on his hands, his clothes and some random splashes all over his body, as if he had just finished slaughtering something or someone. He was a dangerous enemy, because he could throw his meat hook, a chain fastened to it that he held in one hand, and haul the one he had hit with the hook back to him. When it was an enemy, he now could attack, preferably with one of his abilities that rendered the enemy unable to move while doing damage. In addition to that the Butcher could emit some kind of toxic gas that injured all enemies around him while consuming his own health. Therefore it was the highest priority for an enemy to never get hooked while the Butcher always tried to position himself in a way that he wasn't visible to the enemy to better aim the throw of his hook. Once hooked it was almost impossible to get away from the Butcher but it also meant that he was only as good as his aim was on that day. Magina had heard about wars between towns that were lost because the Butcher just didn't get it right, his aim always off and therefore he had been not much help. But Magina was optimistic because normally that wasn't the problem.

The Omniknight, like his name said, was a knight with all the trimmings. He was covered in plated armour from his feet to his neck, the metal shining even more when he was standing next to the Butcher. He was big, with broad shoulders and chest, his armour marked with blue fabric on his arms and shoulders, a blue cape covering his back and a modified blue tunic hanging from his waist downwards and two stripes from his shoulders to his waist. Symbols were stitched on some of this fabric in light blue. He held a warhammer in his hands but he was strong enough to wield it with only one, if he had to. The Omniknight wore no helmet and his shoulder-length blond hair had a war braid on his right temple. His face was covered with a full beard in the same colour as his hair and his clear blue eyes stared from a face that always held a stern look. He was a good fighter but also a good support. He had some really practical skills for healing, magic dispelling and an amazing one to make all allies in his vicinity invincible for a short period of time.

The third one, whom Magina didn't know and who would be going on a road with him since the Omniknight just followed the Drow Ranger to the top road and the Butcher would go on the middle road, was called the Silencer. He was a ranged hero and would therefore be a good addition to Magina and was going to support him. The Silencer was wearing some armour but it was covered by a purple tunic, rimmed with gold. His bracers were purple as well, as were his boots and helmet. In one hand he had a heavy shield, parts of it purple and gold as well, with an intricate design and in his other hand he was holding a glaive, three sharp blades sticking from the middle where he clutched it. He would throw this glaive to attack the enemy. Nearly all of his face was covered by his helmet but enough was visible to show his grim expression.

Magina nodded at the man, who returned the nod, then he began to browse the wares from the merchant. It was an older man, half of his face hidden by a white beard. He had all kinds of items, from consumable things to weapons, wands, armour, boots, magical items and so on. Everything one would need before a fight, during one or after one where purchasable. The man didn't talk to them and they had to identify the items on the basis of small tags with the name and a description of the item, sometimes an instruction how to use it. Magina had partaken in a few town wars before this one and already knew most of the items because they seldom changed. He knew that he needed a shield to block some of the incoming damage, something that would give him back health after he had consumed it and a Quelling Blade, which granted him bonus damage on normal soldiers and on the beasts in the woods. Thus equipped he headed out in the direction of the bottom road and the first tower there.

The first wave of soldiers appeared right behind him, following the road until they would encounter an enemy. They were absolutely brainless, their order saying to take the road and fight any enemy on it. If the enemy was on the side of the road, far enough away, they wouldn't engage but go forward. When they had an enemy building in their way they would go for it but when an enemy appeared they would always first attack the enemy and leave the building. It was a strict order and they never strayed. They were not always helpful like that but they were definitely predictable and assessable.

The Silencer was waiting under first tower and together they went on, the soldiers by their side. They saw the enemy soldiers appearing in front of them, followed by the enemy heroes. One he had seen before, the other not. The one he knew was the Crystal Maiden, a small woman who could wield ice. She was floating a few feet above the ground, her feet encase by white boots, lined with fur. Her legs were naked under a blue dress, the skirt flowing with her movement. She wore sleeves that weren't attached to the dress, but had the same colour, and white gloves. A matching cape with wide shoulder pieces completed her outfit, the hood drawn over her head. Her blond hair escaped the cloth in golden waves, framing a beautiful face with gorgeous blue eyes, highlighted by her clothes in the exactly same colour. In one hand she held a magic staff, something suspiciously looking like an ice crystal at the top. Magina knew that she could cast three different spells, all three effects containing ice. The first was a small explosion on the ground that slowed all enemies it hit. The second was focused on only one enemy, encasing him in ice and therefore rendering him unable to move and attack. The third was applied to an area, like the first, with the Crystal Maiden the centre of the area. She stood there, chanting, while ice rained down from the sky, hitting every creature in the area, dealing damage and slowing movement. She had some passive ability as well, but Magina didn't know what it did. It must be something that wasn't evident, maybe didn't even affect the enemy.

The other hero against them on the road looked as if he was completely made of metal. If a body of flesh was hidden under the steal, Magina couldn't see, though the metal had the form of a man. The robot had some weapons strapped to his back, one a rocket and the others some saws, while he was holding a grappling hook in one hand that would surely be used for one of his abilities but he also used it to attack the soldiers now. With all that metal it looked hard to damage the creature, labelling him as a tank while the Crystal Maiden would probably support him.

They had to be careful at the beginning until they knew what skills the robot had so he couldn't surprise them with a stun or something similar.

Therefore Magina stayed a little back while the Silencer, as a ranged hero, could still attack the enemy soldiers and, when he ventured into range, the robot as well. When the Silencer was able to do enough damage to the enemy hero to keep him at a distance Magina could without worry attack the enemy soldiers. He needed to do that to get the killing blows on them because only the deliverance of a killing blow on an enemy would earn them extra money. And Magina needed this extra money badly to be able to buy the items that would let him become a dangerous hero in this war. As it was, he was rather useless because he didn't do much damage yet, had little armour and even less health. He could only cast one spell that would deal damage and that not until he had gathered more experience, which he would also get mostly from dealing the killing strikes to the enemy. He needed the experience to get better and to develop his abilities because at the beginning of the town wars all heroes had only one of their abilities and at a low level at that. It was different from the real world and Magina always needed a little time to adjust to the missing other abilities. But it made sure all heroes started at the same point, all had the same skill level and that they all needed experience to get better.

Of course all heroes got money and experience as well without killing an enemy but it was definitely less and for the experience they had at least to be near the place an enemy was killed.

Their teamwork was good so far, the Silencer attacking the enemy heroes when they were near enough and then he began to cast one of his spells, cursing all enemy heroes in an area until they either cast a spell as well or until the duration of the spell was over. In the second case they would lose health and energy they needed to be able to use their magical abilities. It was good, when the enemy heroes were not able to cast something, but if they were, it caused them to use one of these abilities. In their situation, the Crystal Maiden reacted instantly with her ice explosion, hitting Magina while dealing damage and slowing him. The robot either wasn't able to cast something or he didn't want to, taking the damage and the loss of magical energy and Magina was glad because the ice was annoying enough on its own.

The question now was: could the Silencer use his curse more often than the Maiden could use her spells? Otherwise it wouldn't have the desired effect, at least not on her. It would deal enough damage to the robot though, and that would probably be worth it.

Magina stayed back until one of the enemy soldiers was near death, then he ran up to him to deliver the killing blow before backing away again. That way he avoided being attacked but was still able to get the extra gold and experience. It was extremely exhausting and required a lot of concentration but it worked so far. Mostly because the Crystal Maiden didn't do much damage with her normal attacks while the Silencer was able to keep the robot at bay.

When the curse hit the next time, the robot reacted way faster and the Maiden used her other skill. Magina had been in the middle of the soldiers and therefore she was able to encase him in ice, making it impossible for him to move while causing him to lose health. At the same time the robot launched a rocket into the air that exploded above his head, dealing damage to all antagonistic creatures underneath the explosion, which included him. The robot neared but he had been too far away and as soon as the ice around Magina vanished he was able, with one of his abilities, to blink away a few feet, like a teleportation over a small space. The robot wasn't able to get a hit at him but Magina had lost a lot health because of the ice and the rocket.

He ate one of the consumable items he had bought that regenerated some of his health but he had to be even more careful. Of course the curse from the Silencer was important and he had to use it, but Magina had to be out of the attack range of the enemy heroes when he cast the spell. Otherwise the use of their abilities wouldn't be a loss to them, which it should be.

Maybe Magina should use the experience he got to develop his spell shield further instead of maximizing the blink or the upgrade of his weapon to burn the magic energy from the enemy unit it hit. The spell shield would make Magina more resistant against the magic of the Crystal Maiden. But by not upgrading his weapon he wouldn't heighten the amount of energy he burned with an attack and the damage he would deal. But if it made it easier for him to stand against the two enemy heroes on the road he should definitely consider it.

Gods, how he hated magic. There was nothing, absolutely nothing in the world that he abhorred that much. He would love to finally annihilate all magic in the world and he tried to do so every chance he got. But there were just so many mages and only one of him.

He ate another consumable before skilling his spell shield and then concentrating on killing the enemy soldiers while he kept an eye on the enemy heroes. The Silencer seemed to use his curse more deliberate but threw an enchanted glaive from time to time, which did a lot more damage than his normal ones. It kept the robot at a distance and even the Crystal Maiden was more careful. She could deal much damage to an opponent but on the other hand she had absolutely no armour and only little health, which meant, if someone was able to get near enough, it would be rather easy to kill her.

Considering his chances of blinking in and killing her, Magina watched her all the time from the corner of his eyes. He wouldn't engage like that, though, until he knew what other skills the robot had. He saw the exact moment the woman decided to engage and made himself ready to blink away. The blink took a split second to actually port him away and that split second was enough for the Maiden to encase him in ice. The Silencer reacted quickly, casting his curse and throwing an enchanted glaive at the robot, who was going for Magina.

But the curse was immediately broken by both heroes, the Crystal Maiden casting the ice explosion while the robot summoned a square of cogs around him and Magina. Then he began, in addition to his normal attack, to shoot something from the weapons on his back and he even fired his rocket. When Magina was able to move again, it was too late. He tried to blink away but though his spell shield had lessened the damage he had taken from the magic it wasn't enough to safe him. And the Silencer, who had done everything in his power to help, wasn't able to prevent the two enemy heroes from attacking him. The robot took much damage from the enchanted glaives but he didn't back off and therefore his last hit, a split second before Magina would have blinked away, was a death blow.


	3. Chapter 2

Resurrecting in the safe zone Magina took a deep breath before buying a Scroll of Town Portal, with which he teleported to first tower on the bottom road. Those Scrolls could teleport a hero to every allied building on the map and were therefore either a fast way to the towers or to get back into town in case of danger. The Scroll needed a few seconds channelling time before the hero was ported and in this few seconds the porting hero was vulnerable without being able to counterattack. And if he was stunned in the channelling time of the Scroll the teleportation was cancelled, the Scroll wasted (It was a one-time use item and was gone after the channelling had started) and the hero would still be at the place from which he had wanted to port away. But all in all it was a useful item.

Back at the tower everything was okay. The Silencer could keep the enemy heroes at bay and just cast his curse when Magina drew near. The enemy heroes reacted like before, the Crystal Maiden making an ice explosion and the robot starting the racket but this time they both didn't hit Magina, since he was still too far away. The Silencer was fine and it looked as if he hadn't been attacked in the meantime. He looked at him when he approached the soldiers but said nothing and Magina continued where he had stopped before his death. It had only been bad luck that the Crystal Maiden had been that split second faster because he had seen it coming. And he was sure the next time he would be the one with the luck and get away. Or he had to react even faster. But staying back, were he was safe, was no option, because he needed the money from killing the soldiers. Without he would be of no use and it wouldn't matter if he hadn't died in return.

At the side of the road, somewhere between the two first towers, shielded by a few trees but accessible by a path, was the shop of a neutral merchant that sold items to the heroes of both teams likewise. He didn't have the same variety as the merchant in the town, but it was enough to get some important items without having to go back to town or wait for the delivery service of the town merchant. Magina turned into the path and bought boots for himself, or better an improvement for the boots he was wearing, to be able to move faster. It was the only effect of this improvement but it could save his life in a situation where he was chased or grant him a kill if he was able to move faster than his opponent.

And he really wanted to kill the Crystal Maiden with her staff and her spells full of ice and magic. But first he had to get more money and more items. That sounded easier than it was because the robot wasn't really phased anymore by the attacks from the Silencer. He kept standing near the soldiers and attacked them as well as going for Magina, who countered the attacks but didn't do the same amount of damage as the robot did to him. He simply wasn't the kind of fighter to tank in a battle and the constant attacks were really beginning to annoy him. In addition he didn't fight against tanks but against the mages who didn't have armour like the robot in front of him, in this case against the Crystal Maiden. But to get to her he had to either blink next to her, which meant he didn't have a blink to get away, and with the robot there to help her he didn't have a chance to win such an attack. Or he had to run up to her, which would give her way too much time to encase him in ice and the robot would be able to get to him, too.

He backed away a little to get distance between him and the robot and surveyed the scene. The Silencer used this moment to set his curse again but Magina wasn't really happy with the outcome. It simply didn't do enough damage to the enemy heroes and until Magina was strong enough to initiate a fight he had to get much more money and experience. And then he decided that it wouldn't do for him to stay on the road and chance another attack from the mage woman and the robot. The Silencer would be able to hold the tower against those two and he would get more experience when he didn't have to share it with Magina.

That decided he turned into the woods on his left side. In those woods he would find some beasts and to kill those beasts would give him money and experience just like killing soldiers or enemy heroes would. The advantage was that he didn't have to be as guarded as on the road. So he spent the next minutes in the woods and fought one beast after the other. Most were still too strong for him but there were some he was able to kill.

He wanted to upgrade his boots with the money he got but decided it was more useful to buy a Ring of Health first, an item that helped his body to regenerate his health faster. He used the delivery service from the merchant in town for that so he didn't have to walk to the shop because he could use the time that would take more profitably by killing more beasts.

The delivery service was a relief because the ring made the farming of the creatures in the woods easier since he healed much faster now. It didn't really help him against the next attack, though.

On his one side he saw movement under the trees and on pure instinct he blinked away. But it seemed they had anticipated that because he appeared directly in front of the Crystal Maiden, who had neared from the opposite side. She encased him in ice and took a step back before she instantly began to cast the ice rain while the robot approached them. The ice around Magina vanished but he didn't have his blink ready that fast again and the ice was slowing him so it was rather easy for the robot to make the cogs encase him in a square again, though he probably wouldn't have needed it to kill him.

In the safe zone Magina took a moment to think about his next step in this town war. Both ways he had tried to get enough farm with hadn't worked so he had to try a third possibility. Because if they killed him all the time they would get too much money and experience and he always lost money when he died. Maybe he should switch roads with one of the other heroes to get other opponents. The middle road was no option for that but he decided it was worth a try on the top road. Or, if they didn't switch, maybe they could kill the enemy heroes there because of their temporary advantage in numbers.

At the first tower on the top road it looked good. The Drow Ranger and the Omniknight were relatively far away from their own tower. The Drow looked at him and smiled a little. "Hey Anti-Mage. Nice to see you. You wanna gank with us?" Magina only nodded. He didn't like to talk to others and he tried to avoid it as much as possible. Especially in the town wars, since he was often teamed with creatures, who were at least partially a mage and he didn't want to form a bond with any of them. He would hunt them all down eventually to extinguish all magic in the world and the last thing he wanted was to kill someone with whom he had chatted only a few hours ago during a town war. So he remained apart from the other heroes in the town wars or people in general.

The two enemy heroes on the road were inside the fighting range of their tower, which gave them enough protection to be safe in this state of the war, waiting for their next wave of soldiers. The towers were still too strong in comparison to the heroes and a few hits from the building could well kill a hero. That would change with the heroes getting more experienced and stronger throughout the war and at the end they wouldn't be afraid to attack someone standing under one of those buildings.

The two enemy heroes were a man and a woman. The man was a knight, though Magina couldn't see his face under the helmet, only his eyes were visible because they glowed lightly in an orange light. He was completely covered in plate mail the black gambeson he wore underneath visible on some parts of the body. The armour wasn't plain but had red and golden ornaments on his knees, his shoulders, his neck, his belt and his helmet. The ornaments were sometimes formed into spikes, especially the helmet making the man look very dangerous. A cape was fastened on his shoulders and falling over his back, almost touching the ground, matching his armour. In one hand he held a heavy looking shield in the same colours as his armour, a red dragon in the centre of it, framed in gold. With his other hand he wielded an impressive sword, the hilt also in red and gold and spikes shielding his gloved fingers. From the look of his armour Magina suspected he was a tank rather than something else, so he would definitely not be his first target in a fight.

The second enemy hero on the road definitely looked more like she would be his focus. It was a woman with bow and arrow, wearing green and brown clothes. She had brown leather boots, short and tight trousers, a green shirt that clung to her curves, revealed a flat stomach and the cleavage between two nicely rounded breasts. She had a cape was well, but a short green one, that followed her movements, making her look like a hunter or a ranger in the forest. Her bow was made of wood and was almost as high as the woman was tall, which spoke of the strength the woman needed to draw it and of the impact of the arrows. She was wearing absolutely no armour, which made her the perfect target for Magina. Her red-brown hair was shoulder long and slightly wavy. She moved with an astonishing grace, especially compared to the rather slow and plump knight with the dragon shield at her side and it would probably make it difficult to hit her because she would be able to doge or to move away fast.

And then the woman showed how she wielded her weapon. She drew an arrow, took her time to aim and then she let the arrow fly. It was such a powerful shot, Magina could hear it and see the path it took because of the way its speed changed the flow of the air. It wasn't directed on one target but flew through everything that was on its way, damaging every creature it hit, including the Drow Ranger and most of the soldiers.


	4. Chapter 3

Magina was still watching the enemy heroes and deciding if it was a good idea to start a fight, when a hook appeared out of the woods underneath the tower and took hold of the ranger woman. It had been well aimed and hit her with full force before yanking her through the tress to the wielder of the hook. And then Magina heard the distinct sounds of the Butcher catching one of his victims. Since he wasn't far away from the place where the Butcher must be standing he turned into the woods to be able to help if his help was needed. But then he wasn't fast enough. As soon as the Butcher released the woman, even if it was only for a split second before he could activate one of his other abilities, she activated one of her abilities that made her unbelievably fast. Though Magina blinked after her and she was so heavily wounded it would only take one or two hits to kill her, she was able to outrun him with ease.

That hadn't gone very well and when Magina headed back to the road he saw that the dragon knight was still alive, too. And since he was careful to remain behind his soldiers the Butcher wasn't able to hook him out of the attack range of the tower because the hook would hit the first target on his line, which then would be a soldier and not the hero. It seemed the knight knew how to avoid to get hit by the Butcher.

Another possibility to get the man was to dive under the tower and kill him faster than the tower was able to shoot at them or to drive him out of the protection of the building. Since they were four against one they could definitely try it. The Drow Ranger and the Omniknight were discussing something, maybe even the idea Magina had and the Butcher remained at the place he had been standing when going for the ranger. From there he had a good view under the tower but was out of view from the enemy heroes. That way the dragon knight couldn't know if he was still there or had gone back to his road.

The Drow addressed him. ""You want to initiate? I would come from the other direction" she pointed into the woods from where she could run around the tower, "while the Omniknight would support you."

It sounded like a doable idea without too many risks because the Omniknight could heal him, so Magina nodded. He turned towards the tower and the Drow vanished into the woods, the dark colours of her cape making her melt into the shadows. He waited for a few seconds, scanning the movement of the dragon knight and waiting for the Drow to take her position. Then, with a look at the Omniknight, he blinked right under the tower, the enemy hero now in front of him and he placed a few solid hits.

The knight didn't move away from the building, though, but rounded it and disappeared into the trees above, vanishing from Magina's sight in the shadows there. As it was, Magina was on his own because the others couldn't see the knight as well and were additionally out of attack range. Magina didn't like it one bit and decided, before he was fighting somewhere in the woods without the help from his team mates, that he would back away and they could start another attack later.

The tower had started to attack him and the enemy soldiers were coming his way. Luckily enough his blink would be ready again in a few seconds so he was optimist that he would be able to get away. A heal from the Omniknight made it even easier and then he blinked out of the shooting range of the tower and away from the enemy soldiers. He saw movement from the corner of his eyes, somewhere in the woods and assumed it was either the Butcher or the Drow. It was, but they were clearly running away from something. Or someone.

This something came then falling from the sky, a rock, like a meteor, crashing on the ground right in front of them and then rolling forward, leaving a path of fire behind. Then a blast from the same direction as the meteor shoved them forward, into the path of the meteor in which they were then standing and that made them burn. The Butcher had enough health that it didn't really faze him but the Drow took much damage from the hit.

Magina took a deep breath, smelling the magic in the air and stared into the shadows under the trees, trying to see the mage that had cast the meteor. The Drow was already on her way back to town to escape the mage behind her, when the Omniknight had his heal ready again and cast it onto her. And then all hell broke loose.

No one had kept an eye on the tower and it seemed not only had the dragon knight left the woods again but the ranger had returned and one of the heroes from the bottom road, the robot, had teleported to the tower as well. Now they were four against four with the mage still not visible in the forest. And the enemy initiated the fight immediately.

The robot was the first one, because he now used his grappling hook, not to hook someone in his direction, like the Butcher, but to bring him to the side of his target. And that was the Drow. When he was standing next to her, he activated the square of cogs around them and Magina saw for the first time, that those cogs not only encased the robot with his opponent but also locked all others out by doing damage and burning energy to the ones who tried to hit the cogs or to attack the robot while standing outside of the square. And that would be him as well as the Omniknight. They both backed away a little, not liking it but unable to help the Drow Ranger while she was inside of the square.

The Butcher was able to safe the woman because his hook could not only hit enemy units but also allied ones as well and therefore he was able to hook her out of the square. She moved farther away from the fight but then a strike out of fire hit the ground where she was running and killed her instantly.

Then the knight, which also explained the dragon on his shield, transformed into a ….. dragon and flew towards Magina and the Omniknight. The ranger woman shot something like shackles at the Butcher, which bound him to the tree next to him and therefore stunned him. The cogs from the robot vanished and he focused on the stunned Butcher now, attacking him while he was immobilized.

Magina took another step back because he was more than sure that he couldn't do anything to save the Butcher. They were outnumbered and he was still too weak to do much damage. The Omniknight seemed to think the same, because he backed away, too, retreating in the direction of their tower, away from the approaching dragon and the fight of the robot, the ranger and the Butcher.

Wanting to safe the Butcher, the Omniknight cast his healing onto him. He had stopped his retreat when the dragon had switched his focus onto the Butcher as well and now tried to help him to escape. Magina didn't have any abilities to do that, he couldn't stun and he couldn't heal. He could only watch and hope. If he blinked in and attacked, he would definitely die, so it was no option.

Surrounded by enemies, the Butcher, fully healed, nonetheless went in the direction of the tower as soon as the shackles faded. The Omniknight had another ability that was visible as a white and blue sphere around the one it was cast onto and that blocked all magical spells. That way no one could stun the Butcher or damage him by magic. It was no protection against all incoming damage and the ranger shot arrow after arrow while the dragon spit fire balls. The robot ran after the Butcher and then Magina saw the mage. He was still in the shadows of the trees but he had come closer.

He was human, or very similar to a human. He was tall and he wore the most eccentric robe he had ever seen on a mage. And he had seen many so that said it all. Magina couldn't see the colours but it was making the mage look more imposing than he probably was. He was wearing trousers and boots and a tunic was covering his chest, reaching onto the ground on the sides, but open in the front and probably the back (therefore the trousers). On the shoulders he had some kind of armour that shielded his neck and the back of his head and was far wider than his shoulders underneath and higher than his head. The sleeves of his shirt were loosely hanging from his outstretched arms, stopping above some wrist armour. His hands were bare, as was his head. His hands were also empty, no staff or anything to help him wield his magic but it was nonetheless absolutely obvious that he was a mage, since three orbs, two fire balls burning orange and one looking like fire but blue, were circling around him.

Magina could almost smell the magic surrounding the man and it made his body tingle lightly. He couldn't see the features of the mage but he was sure that he was the one Magina had been told about: the most skilled and oldest of mages, the Invoker. He had been looking for the man all over the world in his quest to extinguish all magic. And now he had found him. Magina stared at him and debated about going for him just because he was a mage, but decided against it. First, even if he could kill him, he would just resurrect in his town and appear again, making the risk not worth it. And second he was still too weak and if the mage was as good as he had heard, this town war would probably not be the best fighting ground. In the town wars Magina depended too much on the items he could buy, which was absolutely different than in the real world.

If he got the chance to kill the mage he would be more than glad to do it but he would not go for him in such a disadvantageous situation. He wanted to turn away to distract himself from the urge to kill the mage, when the blue orb changed its colour, becoming orange like the other two. And then the Invoker looked at him. He couldn't see his face but he felt his gaze, the tingling in his body becoming stronger. The ranger woman stepped between them, blocking the mage from Magina's view and when he could look at the place where he had been standing again, the man had vanished.

But the other three enemy heroes had not and though the Butcher had made it under the tower he was severely wounded and would be of no help in a fight. That left the Anti-Mage and the Omniknight against the robot, the dragon knight and the ranger. Not the best odds.

"We go back." The Omniknight said and followed the Butcher in the direction of the town. "We let the tower fall. We won't be able to prevent it anyway so we can just as well use the time to regroup and meet the enemy all together."

He was probably right but Magina didn't like it. And he liked even less that he had been of absolutely no help in the fight up there.


	5. Chapter 4

In the town the Drow Ranger had already resurrected and was meeting them under third tower at the entrance to the town. The Butcher ignored her and headed straight for the safe zone to regenerate. It had definitely been a close call for him. The Drow and the Omniknight discussed where to go next but Magina just didn't care. They decided to head to first tower on the bottom road to band together with the Silencer before doing anything else. The Butcher refused to join them. He wanted to go back to the middle road to prevent the mage from getting too much money by being able to get all the last hits on the soldiers due to the fact he didn't have to worry about an opponent.

Magina thought it not the best of ideas but maybe the Crystal Maiden was still alone on the bottom road or only the robot had joined her. Then they would surely be able to kill them both.

But when they arrived at the tower, no one was there, not even soldiers. They went on and found the Silencer, who was fighting against some enemy soldiers in front of the enemy tower. They joined him, wanting to seize the opportunity to destroy the building while no enemy hero was there. They had the mouth of the stream at their backs but nothing happened and they were able to destroy the building quickly before backing away. It could mean nothing good that no enemy hero was around and they used the stream as the fastest way to get from the bottom road to the top road (if one didn't have a Scroll of Town Portal at one's fingertips) since it divided the land between the two towns in the middle in an almost straight line. The water was very shallow and in the deepest part it only reached to Magina's ankle. Nonetheless small fish were swimming in the stream and dragonflies hovered over the water.

On the middle road, which was broken between the two first towers by the stream, the Butcher was trying to hold first tower against the Invoker. It didn't look good, the mage clearly able to do much damage while the Butcher, as a melee fighter, had to stay back if he didn't want to be hit and therefore couldn't attack the man. The mage seemed to know how to avoid being hooked, because he remained all the time behind at least one soldier to have a barrier of sorts. The magical orbs around his head had changed their colours again, two were now pink and one blue.

They split in their approach, the Drow Ranger and the Omniknight taking a way up from the stream that would bring them directly to first tower of the enemy while the Silencer and Magina followed the stream to the place where the road was under water. The mage had just stepped out of the water and was standing on their side of the land when he saw them coming. He had to cross the stream to get to his own tower where the Drow and the Knight would try to cut off his retreat.

The plan was a good one so far, but the Invoker was strong. He cast a tornado at the two heroes coming from his side that spun them in the air and, directly after that, he conjured the meteor out of the air and just when the tornado released the Drow and the Knight, they were hit by the rock that was now rolling forward, leaving a burning path behind. The Omniknight reacted quickly by healing the woman, who had taken more damage than he.

The Invoker had stopped for a second to cast his spells and in that second the Silencer was able to curse him. Staying absolutely calm the orbs above his head changed their colour again and then the mage made a wall of ice appear out of nowhere, cutting Magina and the Silencer off from their pursuit. The Silencer probably hadn't wanted to do that before but now he used one of his abilities that rendered all enemy heroes in this war, no matter where they were, unable to cast their spells. They were, therefore his name, silenced.

While the mage retreated further in the direction of his town the Drow and the Omniknight followed, the woman able to hit the man with one of her arrows that was encased in frost, slowing the enemy while dealing damage, making it easier for her to follow. Magina, undisturbed by the wall of ice, blinked next to them to help chase the mage while the Silencer stayed behind. The Butcher had either been too injured to want to risk a fight or he had not realized what they were doing. Either way he wasn't with them. They just passed the enemy tower and now they learned why it was most unwise to fight under these buildings. The tower started to hit the Drow, who was already injured, and though the Omniknight healed her again she should probably head out of the reach of the tower. She shot another arrow at the mage in front of her, who was still under the effect of Silence. But he was too far away for the Knight and Magina to attack so only the Drow could do damage. It really looked as if he would be able to get away when he reached second tower. He was heavily injured but the Drow and the Omniknight wouldn't follow him under another tower and they turned into the woods, clearly not happy but unable to do anything else.

Magina looked after the Invoker, who would be dead with another hit or maybe two and he just couldn't turn around. He ran after him, waiting for his blink to be ready again and just when he stepped into the fighting range of the tower, he blinked forward, spanning almost all the distance to the mage, leaving the attack range of the tower with another few steps. The Invoker must have sensed him somehow, because he turned around. Magina was now directly in front of the heavily injured mage, his weapons ready to deliver the killing blow. And for the first time he could see the Invoker's face clearly, only a few feet separating them and he stopped dead in his tracks.

The man was absolutely _beautiful_. There was no other word to describe him. He had symmetric features, a straight nose, high cheekbones and full lips that looked incredibly soft. His blond hair fell straight to his shoulders, the front strands bound back from his face, making his pointed ears visible. His slightly darker eyebrows were formed into a frown, giving him a fierce look, which stood in absolute contrast with his beauty. And then there were his eyes. They were completely white, almost glowing, and they were entirely focused on Magina. He was the most stunning creature the Anti-Mage had ever encountered and from this close he was just glorious. He was a little taller than the Anti-Mage and he emitted an aura of power and strength that made him seem even taller. And now his robe didn't only look eccentric but underlined this power.

They stood like that for a few seconds, staring at each other. Magina was somehow stunned by the appearance of the man. But the Invoker didn't move either, though he was obviously in front of an enemy hero who still had his weapons raised.

Suddenly a wave of enemy soldiers appeared and attacked Magina since he stood in the middle of the road, and that broke the spell. The orbs around the mage changed their colours and then the he went invisible before Magina could even realize what was happening. Another hit from an enemy soldier made him look away from the place where the mage had been standing only a second before, taking in his surroundings again. He had to get away from the road, and fast, so he turned into the woods, the soldiers following him while trying to attack. He went to a place where some beasts were standing in the woods and now the beasts and the soldiers were fighting against each other. Normally Magina would have stayed to get the experience and the gold from both but he was confused by his encounter with the Invoker.

What had happened? Could the mage have somehow enchanted him without him noticing it? That seemed unlikely because magic was seldom that unremarkable and Magina always knew when magic was wielded. And the mage hadn't reacted as well. If he had been enchanting him somehow he should have either attacked him ore retreated further. He had done neither, as if he had been stunned as well. But by what?

Remembering those strange eyes, fixed on him like that, a shiver ran through his body. Magina frowned. His body reacted absolutely strange to the Invoker, first the tingling when he had seen him in the shadows of the woods, then the encounter a minute ago and now that strange shiver that felt suspiciously _not_ like hatred or the wish for vengeance. Magina grit his teeth in frustration, willing his body to behave. It was only a tool and had to do what his mind told it. And his mind clearly wanted vengeance on all mages with the ensuing extinction of all magic. A beautiful face should not be able to distract him that easily. But next time he would be prepared. The Invoker wouldn't be able escape him another time.

His thoughts were still occupied when four enemy heroes appeared in front of him. He was not in the least fast enough to blink away before the ranger used her shackle shot to stun him. And since the Crystal Maiden was with them he was encased in ice before the stun of the shackles faded and dead even before the ice vanished.

That would've been a shortcut to the safe zone if it didn't take time to resurrect. And if it didn't hurt so much. And the enemy heroes gained money and experience from those kills, too. This war was just highly frustrating and the Anti-Mage debated briefly if he should just stay in the safe zone and wait until it was over. But that was not fair to his allied heroes so he would join them again. And they hadn't lost yet. He had won wars that had started the same way.

Finishing his Power Treads, an upgrade for his boots, he left the safe zone and went looking for the others. On his way he saw that the enemy soldiers on the top road were already in front of third tower, which meant the other two towers were destroyed. It seemed the enemy heroes had been going for the buildings while they had been destroying their first tower on the bottom road. Not a very good exchange, one tower against two… He killed the soldiers in front of their town but didn't go any further on the road. He headed to the middle road instead to meet the others. The enemy heroes seemed to be together in bigger groups now and he didn't want to encounter four of them alone again. Not with their combined abilities to stun him.

The Butcher was still (or maybe again) at first tower on the middle road and he was alone. The others had to be at the bottom road, then. Since it wasn't very profitable to run around all the time Magina decided to stay with the Butcher and try to get the tower on this road. The Butcher positioned himself on one side of the road and watched the enemy side of the stream. From where he was standing he was able to hook an enemy hero above the stream, without the enemy being able to see him. But only as long as their soldiers were on the enemy side of the stream to give the Butcher vision. So Magina helped them to kill the enemy soldiers and then go for the tower. He had to back away a few times when the enemy tower attacked him but after some more waves of soldiers they had finally destroyed the building. The Butcher hadn't moved from his spot but no enemy hero had appeared. It was a strange war. They seemed to circle around the enemy heroes, no real fight between the two teams happening so far. There were always only a few of them engaged and never the whole team.


	6. Chapter 5

Magina was a little disappointed by the Butcher in this war. But it wasn't entirely his fault. Maybe the enemy could just anticipate where he would stand and whom he would want to hook and so they were able to outmanoeuvre him. It was annoying and that way the Butcher was no big help for them.

Since there was nothing more to do on the middle road (Magina definitely would _not_ try to destroy the next tower as well with only the two of them) they headed to the bottom road together. It was the only place where the others could be.

They headed through the woods, aiming for the middle of the road between first and second tower. It seemed like a good idea, because if first tower was already destroyed they could go for the enemy from the back and if not they could just meet their allied heroes under said building.

What they didn't expect, though, was that second tower had already fallen as well and no allied hero was around. There were only three enemy heroes, the robot and the dragon knight wounded and the ranger, almost unharmed. So a fight had already taken place and their allies were either dead or had retreated back into town. The Butcher, absolutely out of the blue, threw his hook at the woman, hit her and hauled her towards him. Then he activated his ultimate ability, this time fast enough to catch her before she was able to use her ability, so that the ranger wasn't able to get away. Maybe she had been too surprised by the attack. Magina joined the attack immediately and since the woman was rather weak they were able to kill her. The robot and the knight had realized that the ranger had been attacked and turned towards them.

That was the sign for the Butcher and him to leave. The Anti-Mage blinked forward, away from the two heroes, into the shadows of the woods. When he saw movement from the corner of his eyes he turned in the direction. The Invoker was standing between the trees and he was staring at Magina. The orbs around his head were all orange, glowing faintly in the shadows of the woods. He didn't move, just kept looking, his eyes roaming over Magina's body. Said body started to tingle again and Magina frowned. That was a mage and the only thing that his body should feel towards him should be hatred. This tingling was making him mad! And he couldn't even make himself attack the man! Even stranger was the fact that the Invoker didn't attack _him_. He could've easily cast his spells, even from the distance where he was standing, but he did nothing.

Loud footsteps announced the approach of the Butcher and with a change of the orb colours, the Invoker vanished like the last time.

As if his disappearance had broken the spell on Magina, his body started to move again while his frustration rose. What was wrong with him? If it were someone else he would say he was highly attracted and he was feeling arousal, but that was a mage! And the most powerful and skilled one, too! He just _couldn't_ be attracted to one of _them_!

Grinding his teeth he tried to focus on his surroundings, blinking forward as soon as the ability was ready again. This time he was more careful because he didn't want to get ambushed again.

Near the middle road were two places were beasts were standing under the trees and Magina decided to take the risk and kill them before going into town again. It worked and he had finally enough money to buy a Vitality Booster, a stone that endowed him with more health and was needed to upgrade his very simple Stout Shield into one called Vanguard. It would enhance his life regeneration rate and give him a higher amount of health in addition to a higher block chance of attacks. To buy the Booster he had to visit the Secret Shop, a shop from a merchant hidden in a small forest between the middle and the top road. The merchant was neutral and sold items that weren't available at the shops in the town or the ones on the side of the road.

With the improved shield Magina felt a little better. He left the merchant in the direction of the top road. The middle had looked good so far and he wanted to check on third tower on the top road to make sure their town was still protected. He found the enemy soldiers and killed the whole wave. He had to get more money because the next item he needed was the Battle Fury. With the Battle Fury he would deal cleave damage and since his attacks burned the energy of the enemy heroes it was good to hit as many enemies as possible with one hit. The Battle Fury would also give him a higher regeneration rate for his energy and his life and he would deal more damage with his hits. But it wasn't cheap and if the war went on like before Magina wasn't sure if he would be able to buy all the items let alone finish the Battle Fury before they had lost. But it was an integral part for him in a town war and without it he had no chance. So he would try to get all items together and hope that they would be able to turn the tide in their favour.

With the soldiers a good way away from third tower Magina returned into town, where he met his allied heroes. They were already on their way to the middle road and after regenerating shortly in the safe zone, Magina followed. The middle was the only road where they still had their towers and the enemy would surely want to destroy these buildings next. If they concentrated, they would be able to kill them without dying. They had good abilities, especially for a team fight, they just had to time their attacks properly. The Butcher would go for the ranger woman and hopefully be able to snatch her before she could run away. Magina would focus on the Crystal Maiden since she wielded much magic but was vulnerable to direct attacks. And if he could burn all her energy she would be useless. He just had to be faster than her to prevent her from encasing him in ice.

Magina liked the idea of killing a mage. Even if it was only in a town war. He had wanted to go after the Crystal Maiden in the world as well, once, but it was too cold for his liking where she lived and he had postponed her death. It wasn't as if he didn't have other mages to kill in warmer places. But sometime he would definitely get her. Magina felt almost giddy at the prospect of going after her. He could feel the hatred for all magic burning in his body. He had to be clever though, to get her. She would stand behind so she wouldn't be the first target in the fight and Magina would have to either blink to her side or walk around the other enemy heroes. Either way he had to dodge the attacks of the other enemy heroes and try not to call attention to himself.

The Drow Ranger had bought something with which she could make herself invisible and she now used this invisibility to scout ahead. She ran forward as far as first tower and then turned right, giving them vision inside of the woods. And from there the enemy approached.

They had probably wanted to surprise them with an attack from the side but the scouting Drow had found them before they could initiate the fight. The Butcher stopped and simply hooked the first enemy hero he could reach, which was the robot. The Silencer immediately used his ability to silence all enemies and Magina wasted no time. He blinked forward as long as they were all unable to use their stuns and he appeared almost in front of the Crystal Maiden. Her eyes widened when she saw him and she backed away, clearly trying to run away since she dealt not much damage without her abilities. But Magina was faster and he attacked her. He focused only on the woman in front of him, ignoring the rest. He could feel the exact moment when the silence lifted. The Maiden turned around and froze him but no other enemy hero was near enough to attack him. They had veered too far away from the others. And then she made a fatal mistake: instead of running away, with which she would probably have survived, she began to cast the raining ice. Of course it did damage and Magina felt the cold bite into his body. But he had a spell shield, which blocked much of the incoming magic. So when the frost encasing him vanished, he was hurt but not enough not to continue his attack. To avoid to walk up to her he blinked and, after two more hits, he used his sole other active ability on her. She was still casting, maybe hoping to kill him before he killed her, but she must have used almost all her magical energy now and his ability did damage dependent on the amount of energy an enemy was missing. So it took Magina only this one use of his ability and the Crystal Maiden fell to the ground, the ice rain stopping immediately, the air around Magina warming to its normal temperature. He looked at the body of the woman at his feet, several wounds from his weapons visible on her body. He felt definitely satisfaction in seeing her dead.

He took a deep breath to enjoy the fading of the magic in the air before he turned away. He should head back to the others to see if he could help in the fight but he was injured so he wasn't sure if he should take the risk to run into several enemy heroes alone. He went in the direction of the bottom road and when he found a cliff he blinked down, using it as a shortcut to the middle road.

Under second tower the Silencer and the Omniknight were standing together. It seemed as if they were waiting for something and, sure enough, three enemy heroes appeared. The dragon knight, in the form of a dragon, the ranger and, behind them, the Invoker. The robot was missing, so maybe they had been able to kill him after the Butcher had hooked him. But they must have lost first tower.

Magina looked at the Invoker and tried to summon the same feeling of hatred he had felt towards the Crystal Maiden, only seconds before, but it didn't surface. Instead, when he watched the mage move with a natural grace, the orbs above his head changing their colour from time to time and that frown on his face that made him look fierce and dangerous, he felt drawn to him. And definitely not hatred. He didn't have the urge to kill him and that scared him. All his life he had lived for vengeance on the mages for what they had done to him and the people around him. The death of all magic was the most important thing for him and he had to kill the Invoker. He was the purest form of magic in a living being. Magina took a deep breath and shut everything around him out, focusing solely on the mage. He _would_ kill him. With the next breath he blinked and, appearing right in front of the Invoker, he wielded his weapons against him. He didn't look in his face, trying to avoid the fact that he _was_ attracted to the man, but concentrated on the spots where he wanted to hit him. His first slash cut through cloth as well as the flesh underneath, blood colouring the bright robe in darker shades. Magina still didn't look up but kept his blades moving, going for the next strike. Only the mage was faster, using the spell to vanish from his sight. The Anti-Mage stared at the spot he had been standing and at the blood that had formed drops on the ground. It was coating his weapons as well, making the blades glistening dark red. There was a strange ache inside his chest which intensified when a dark drop rolled over the blade and fell to the ground.

Magina realized that the satisfaction he had expected wouldn't come. And when the shackles from the ranger bound him in place, followed by arrows and fire balls hitting him, he raised his gaze and stared in the direction the Invoker must have vanished. Of course he was long gone. Having totally expected to die, Magina was more than surprised when he was suddenly healed and a curse hit the two enemy heroes at his back. He recognised the curse by the sound its release made. Turning around he saw the Omniknight and the Silencer attacking, helping him. Magina didn't hesitate and joined the fight, going for the dragon knight, who was a man again. The ranger still shot her arrows at him but he could blink away now and did so, scarcely escaping death. He didn't turn back but headed directly into the safe zone to regenerate. If the fight was still going when he had regenerated he could participate again but right now he was of no use.


	7. Chapter 6

When Magina left the safe zone the Silencer and the Omniknight were coming from the middle road. Both were injured but alive. Just when he nodded at them to indicate his thanks, a bolt of fire struck down from the sky, missing the Omniknight but killing the Silencer, only a few steps before he would have reached the safe zone. The Anti-Mage blinked but the burned remains of the man were still lying on the ground. That bolt had suspiciously smelt like magic and Magina suspected that the Invoker was powerful enough to wield magic that could reach that far. But even now, with the dead Silencer in front of him, he couldn't even _think_ about killing the Invoker. Every time he saw his face, the urge for vengeance vanished. And it was making him crazy. How could just the sight of the mage erase all his hatred and rage?

He stared at the remains of the Silencer until his body vanished, as well as the burn marks the fire bolt had left on the ground. Only when the Omniknight ran past him Magina noticed the sound of fighting coming from the entrance of their town. They hadn't been able to throw the enemy back, then.

Following the knight, Magina neared third tower. The building was under attack but it was still standing, albeit barely. The Invoker had returned and together with the dragon knight and the ranger he was hitting at the building.

Stopping next to the Omniknight, between the two towers in front of the heart, Magina looked at them. The two of them were not strong enough to go against three enemy heroes, so they had to wait for the Drow Ranger or the Butcher to be resurrected.

Totally undisturbed the enemy was able to destroy the tower and switch focus onto the two barracks right behind it. They had now entered the town and therefore trod onto the higher ground on which it was built.

While the ranger and the knight ignored Magina and the Omniknight, the Invoker cast looks at them from time to time. Or, if the Anti-Mage had to be honest, he cast looks at him. He ignored the Omniknight just like the others.

Magina became agitated and began to pace between the towers. He had to watch the enemy destroy the town he was assigned to protect, and he could do absolutely nothing if he didn't want to die in a futile attempt to defend the buildings. And still the hatred wouldn't come. Normally it was always there, always simmering and only waiting to be unleashed onto a mage.

The Drow appeared beside him and behind her the Butcher approached. As soon as the enemy heroes saw them, they turned around and retreated. That was Magina's chance. The Invoker was able to go invisible and the ranger was too fast for him to catch, but the dragon knight was slow enough and without another thought Magina blinked. The only problem was that he wasn't able to stun or slow the knight and he didn't do enough damage to kill the retreating man. And the others were too far behind to help him.

Not wanting to run into a trap further up the road Magina stopped. He looked at the back of the retreating knight, sighed and then headed back into town. Suddenly he saw movement to his left. He switched into his battle stance immediately and when he turned the Invoker was standing under the trees at the outskirts of the woods. He didn't attack though, just stood there and looked at Magina. The orbs above his head were all three glowing orange and the frown on his face was deeper than normal. His stance was relaxed, his hands hanging loosely at his sides. He was clearly not going to attack, his gaze travelling slowly over Magina's body.

The tingling started again, following the path of the mage's eyes over his body. There was nothing Magina would rather do than blame the tingling on some magic the Invoker was casting, but he was absolutely sure there _was_ no magic. And he _always_ knew when someone cast magic. His body just seemed to be hyper aware of the man in front of him. Magina grit his teeth and tried to beat the reactions of his body down. At the same time he willed his feet to step forward and his hands to raise his weapons. He would attack the mage and if he didn't attack him it was all the better.

But when he was almost within reach the Invoker raises his eyes and their gazes collided. Magina stopped dead in his tracks and if he hadn't been sure that the mage showed absolutely no change of emotion in his beautiful face he would have sworn that he sucked in a sharp breath.

"The Anti-Mage." The Invoker murmured, his deep voice almost like a caress on Magina's skin. "Why don't you attack, I wonder…" Magina's gaze dropped to the mage's mouth, his lips slightly parted. They definitely looked soft and the Anti-Mage had the sudden urge to touch them, preferably with his own lips.

A sound behind Magina made the Invoker step back, deeper into the shadows of the trees around him. Another step and he vanished from his view.

"Hey, Anti-Mage. Did you get the dragon?" The Drow Ranger was standing in the middle of the road, the Butcher at her side. She didn't comment on the Invoker so maybe she hadn't seen him. Which was probably best. Magina sure didn't want anyone to know that he was unable to kill, or even harm, a mage. He shook his head and without a word headed back into town. He felt totally off balance, his body and his mind not working together anymore but against each other. His mind screamed for Magina to kill the Invoker since he was a mage, and one of the most powerful at that, while his body simply refused to do it.

And they still had to win this town war with the next battle not far away.

Inside of the town Magina took a few moments to gather. He closed his eyes and took long and deliberate breaths, trying to calm his mind as much as his body. "Chaos boils in my veins…" he murmured to himself. With another breath he opened his eyes and searched for his allied heroes.

They had already gathered and were waiting at the entrance of the town for the next attack. Which was already advancing in form of all five enemy heroes, accompanied by at least two waves of enemy soldiers.

Though the Butcher had the chance to hook one of the heroes into their town to give them the opportunity to kill him separate from the others, he didn't get to use it. The robot initiated the fight before either of them realized it. He hooked the Drow Ranger, pulled himself next to her and immediately placed the cogs around the two of them. She started to attack him but the robot used some armour of his that was able to throw the same amount of damage back that the attacker was dealing. Which was a huge problem since the Drow had much less health than the robot and would therefore die from her own attacks long before the robot would.

Realizing that, the Drow Ranger stopped but the robot kept hitting at her. And that was only the first attack because the other four heroes followed right behind the robot.

Of course they had the ability from the Silencer, which he used as soon as the enemy started the attack but it wasn't as if the enemy was useless without their spells. With the exception of the Crystal Maiden, who stayed back as precaution, they all dealt massive damage without their spells.

The enemy heroes had all entered the town and the enemy soldiers were already attacking the barracks, which were without protection since the tower had fallen. The Butcher repeated one of his moves from earlier and hooked the Drow Ranger out of the cogs and the Omniknight healed her while going for the dragon, who had been the first enemy hero to enter the town and was therefore at the front. The Silencer joined him and Magina decided to ignore them all and blink to the Crystal Maiden. She stood apart from the others and was vulnerable to him, especially as long as she was silenced.

From there their defeat began.

It wasn't the best idea to go for the dragon first, because he had way too much armour. It was an even worse idea to ignore the ranger woman, because she dealt _massive_ damage. And she had enhanced her weapon, so now lightning flashed from her arrows from time to time. And these lightning not only increased her damage output but dealt damage to the enemies around her, the lightning zapping through them all. And the biggest problem was the Invoker. As soon as the silence faded, he really joined the fight and Magina thought he must have been holding back before because they didn't have the slightest chance.

He had been going for the Maiden and only saw it from the corner of his eyes but it looked like the mage cast one spell after the other, fire and wind and some pink blast, and within seconds no one was standing against him anymore. That meant Magina had five enemy heroes against him now. Without further thought he blinked away and vanished into the woods. He would circle around the battle and enter the town on the bottom road. Then he would go into the safe zone and wait for his allied heroes. Maybe they could throw them back before they were able to destroy the heart. But they would only be able to do so together. Something had definitely gone wrong in this fight. The wrong focus, the initiation of the enemy before they had had the chance, maybe something else.

But, Magina thought, the Invoker hadn't attacked him. He had wiped his allied heroes out but had not _once_ used any of his spells on him, not in this whole war. And he was sure that it hadn't been because there had been no opportunity. Somehow the Invoker seemed to be as averse to a fight as Magina was.

In the town the enemy was already attacking the two towers in front of the heart. It wouldn't take them long to destroy the town completely.

To avoid an attack Magina blinked forward, right to the entrance of the safe zone. He couldn't defend the heart alone and so he didn't even try. If his allied heroes were not resurrected fast enough he would just wait until they were defeated and the war was over.

It had been a really poor performance from all of them. Maybe a little bad luck as well, but they definitely couldn't put all the blame on that.

The enemy was fast and had destroyed the two towers in front of the heart when Magina's allied heroes appeared, one after the other, in the safe zone. That meant they were just in time to witness the fall of their heart and therefore their loss in this town war.

"Oh boys, that was awful." The Drow Ranger shook her head while watching the enemy soldiers hustled to get a place from which they were able to hit at the heart. "I wish you all more luck next time. Until then, have a nice day." And exactly at the second when the heart caved in, the woman vanished. Magina didn't wait much longer, because who wanted to stare at the pile of stones where the heart of the town you were supposed to defend had been standing? He just heard the crashing as the heart collapsed and for a split second he saw the Invoker on the other side of the now destroyed heart. And he was sure the mage had been looking at him as well, his white eyes glowing ever so softly.


	8. Chapter 7

Then Magina was gone from the town. He appeared at the platform from which he had started into the war, a circle of flat ground consisting of grey stone. The platform was a little higher than its immediate surroundings, but that was the only thing that distinguished it. The area around Magina was all grey as well, not one plant to be seen in this plane of stones. The rocky surface fell downward rather steep on one side of the platform while it was on the other three sides encircled by ascending ground. High mountains piled up in the north while a small path wound from the platform parallel to those mountains. It would turn downhill after a while and lead to the woods at the feet of the mountains.

Magina had been following this path in hopes to find a mage. He had heard rumours of one hiding further up in the mountains and had wanted to kill him. He hadn't really expected to find the mage just by following a path and one that apparent even less. But it had guided him deeper into the mountains and after seeing the platform he had spontaneously decided to go for a town war, as some kind of relaxation. That hadn't worked very well since he was first of all angry that they had lost and second still fairly unbalanced regarding his encounters with the Invoker.

Scanning his surroundings and only seeing this one path from the platform that he had used to get there, he decided to go from here on without a clearly defined way. He would follow his instincts to find the mage. Magina decided to forget the Invoker and concentrate on all the other mages still around. He could take his vengeance out on all of them and maybe get back at the Invoker in a few years. Hopefully this strange attraction had faded by then and he could kill him as well.

Thinking about a possible mage made his thirst for vengeance rise and the well-known hatred for all things concerning magic appear. Magina closed his eyes, still standing in the middle of the platform, and concentrated on his surroundings. When he was near enough he could sense a mage, just like he could sense magic. But there was nothing. He would climb higher into the mountains, then, following the notional line of the path.

Just when he turned in that direction, he felt movement behind him. He whirled around, his weapons ready. In front of him stood the Invoker. He had taken the same platform as starting point to the town war as Magina and therefore had ported back to it after the war.

Several thoughts raced through Magina's mind. The first one was that the presence of the Invoker in these mountains and the rumours about a mage there fit rather perfectly together. The second one was that the platforms and the immediate vicinity were neutral zones in which no fights could be performed. That was some kind of precaution against the heroes of the town wars fighting against each other before or after the wars. But it meant he didn't have to try to kill him now because it wouldn't work anyway. And the third was that the man looked even more beautiful between all this grey and cold stones. The purple on his robe was vibrant, the lighter shades were bright, the orbs around his head seemed to glow more powerful. And his features were breath-taking, his white eyes almost shining and his blond hair golden in the sunlight. Like some special and fascinating creature in the middle of nothing but dullness.

As sudden as the Invoker had appeared he vanished again. Magina knew he had used magic for that so he still had to be around, just using invisibility to cloak his presence.

"I will find you! And I _will_ kill you! You are a mage and you deserve nothing but death!" he yelled at the empty air.

Magina heard nothing. The Invoker was gone.

Looking at the mountains, Magina took a deep breath. Then he went to the stones where he had placed his backpack with a few things like a Hearth Stone, a water skin, a few dried stripes of meat and dried fruit. Then he did just as he had planned and left the platform on the opposite side of the path that had led to it.

His search had started and he blocked the tiny voice in his head that questioned the decision to try to find the mage since he probably wouldn't be able to kill him anyway. Though he had only a few minutes ago wanted to forget the Invoker and concentrate on searching for other mages, he now only wanted to follow him.

From time to time he would stop and try to sense magic but either he was on the wrong way, the Invoker had used a Hearth Stone as soon as he had been out of sight or the mage was just much, much faster while using the spell to make him invisible. But Magina wasn't in a hurry to find the mage and so he just continued the way he had chosen. Some time he would probably chance directions to be able to scan as much of these mountains as possible, but at present he simply kept going. From time to time he used his ability to blink forward but it was possible to miss a trace of magic with that method so he mostly walked.

The first day ended and night came quickly. It was pitch black within a few minutes and it was cold between the stones.

Magina had found a place, which was at least safe and sheltered from the wind. It wasn't a very comfortable night, but Magina was used to things like that. He didn't have time for comfort in his life since he was always in search for mages. And he didn't want comfort. Even when he had still been living with the monks he had slept on the hard and cold stone floor and had only eaten meals consisting of dried fruit, sometimes maybe herbs or some fish.

The night was longer then Magina would have liked. He didn't need much sleep but he knew it was absolutely stupid to climb in the mountains in the dark. Even with his ability to blink he was only safe to an extent, and falling down a hundred meters deep cliff wasn't included. So he used the time where he was awake to think about all his encounters with the Invoker. The man had invaded his thoughts and wouldn't be chased away.

He replayed them all, beginning with the first time he had seen him in the shadows of the woods, just a figure in the dark. But even there he had already felt the tingling in his body. So it wasn't only his beauty that drew Magina to him. Though that had definitely been the focus in their second encounter. Thinking about the mage made his image appear in Magina's mind, as clearly as if he was standing in front of him. Magina tried to find out to what aspect of the Invoker his body reacted. Maybe then he would be able to blend this particular thing out when he had found him. Because as it was, Magina was sure that he wouldn't be able to kill the Invoker. Nothing had changed between the town war and now, the only difference was that if he killed him now, he wouldn't be resurrected by some town. He would stay dead and the world would be richer because of one less mage.

But as much as he tried, he couldn't pinpoint why he was drawn to the Invoker. When he thought about the mage, his body began to tingle like it did in his presence and it wasn't only one thing about the man. Magina feared it was his whole appearance as well as his charisma.

Magina sighed. He was at a loss about what to do. The situation was unlike any he had ever known and he felt unable to cope. His oath for vengeance that he had made after the slaughter of the monks he had lived with stood in absolute contrast to the urge to be with the Invoker. The first he didn't want to break and the second he wasn't able to break. Which left him caught between the devil and the deep blue see.

Could he just forget the vengeance he had sworn to deliver? But if not, could he overcome the refusal of his body to obey his minds will and kill the mage? Or, as a third option, could he somehow arrange that the ignoring of the Invoker's presence in the world wasn't a violation against his oath?

Suddenly he felt pretty stupid for shouting after the Invoker that he would kill him. It had been very childish. He had still been angry because of the loss of the town war, not even at the mage. Because he couldn't even summon anger towards him, much less hatred.

As soon as the first slithers of light appeared between the mountains Magina was on his way. The problem was that the walking didn't occupy his mind any more than the sitting and waiting for sunrise had. And it circled endlessly around the Invoker. It was as if he could think about nothing else and Magina realized it wasn't his body or at least not his body alone that was drawn to the mage. His mind just wouldn't focus on anything else for long. And it wasn't as if Magina didn't try. Even the images of the slaughter of the monks dimmed and faded behind the ones of the mage.

When dusk came, Magina was exhausted, body and mind, and he crashed where he was standing. He slept until morning, deep and dreamless.

He woke with a start, sure he had sensed magic, but it was already gone again. He closed his eyes and took deep and even breaths, concentrating on everything around him. And then he felt it again. Just the slightest hint, as if a mage had come through here. But he could pinpoint the direction in which the mage had gone. Magina was up and ready in seconds. He climbed over rocks, not wanting to lose the trail the magic had left because he rounded a difficult part of the way instead of going through it or because he blinked.

Sometimes the lingering magic swirled in the air, almost visible to Magina's senses. He reached a cliff and turned right, running alongside of the smooth wall of stone. When he tried to see the end of the cliff it was blocked by a grey mist. Everything here seemed to be grey and Magina wondered if that was the reason why the Invoker wore such colourful robes. It was depressing to see no colours all day long.

It took him the first part of the day to reach the end of the cliff and by then the trace of magic was gone. But the mist over Magina seemed unnatural, more like a cloak for a presence on top of it. And that presence could only be the mage so he was sure the Invoker had to be wherever the walls leaded to.

The end of the cliff wasn't really the end. It was just the edge from where it changed directions. But there was also the possibility to climb. Not for someone who had to _climb_ , but for someone who could _blink_. Magina couldn't see if it was enough to reach the top of the cliff since it was cloaked in mist, but at the bottom there were small places where he could stand and which were near enough together for him to reach witch a blink. He had to see if it was good enough because he definitely didn't want to run in a circle around the whole cliff, which was probably as steep on all sides with a wide platform on the top. It might be the only way for Magina and so he would just try it. He had stopped to think about what he would do when he would meet the Invoker or why he kept chasing him. He just kept going. The pull towards the Invoker was there and maybe there was a solution to his inner conflict when he met the mage. He somehow hoped to see a way out when he saw the man. There just _had_ to be something.

He blinked from one ledge to the other, until he reached the mist. From there it was more difficult because it was hard to see the next point to which he could jump. But it worked astonishingly well.

The next blink brought the Anti-Mage above the mist and he could see the end of the cliff. It stopped very abruptly and when he arrived at the top he could see that he had been right. In front of him stretched a plain platform, and it was huge. The mist hung in the air a little under the ground of the platform and it looked as if it was floating in the air rather than be attached to the earth. But when Magina looked around he realized that he had the most breath-taking panorama of the land around the mountains. He took a moment to enjoy the view as much as the crisp air that high in the mountains and the silence all around him. It was a beautiful and peaceful place to be.

But it was filled with magic. Magina could sense it in the mist as much as in the air. And the centre of it all was somewhere on the other side of the platform, not visible from where he was standing.

Suddenly Magina felt anticipation at the prospect of meeting the Invoker on this platform that seemed so much apart from the world below. It made him less part of it. And his vengeance and hatred faded, as if they were more attached to the world below than to him and as if he had left them at the foot of the platform. It was like a different realm, it even _felt_ like a different realm.


	9. Chapter 8

Magina began to walk away from the edge. He had entered the platform near a corner and headed to the middle now. In the distance he could see a huge palace. It was surrounded by trees and bushes and there was definitely grass as well. The palace was light-coloured with striped and bits of red and gleamed in the light of the sun. The light colour made the green of the plants around it deeper and darker. It was a fascinating effect. The grass started far away from the building and soon the Anti-Mage was walking through knee high green blades. The ground had changed from hard stone to soft earth and the smell had changed as well.

The Invoker had created his own little world in the mountains, far away from everything and everyone else.

From time to time Magina blinked forward to be faster but mostly he just enjoyed being here. A mild wind was blowing, the air smelled of grass and earth and Magina could hear absolutely nothing. It was perfect.

It was a long way from the corner of the platform to the palace (it had taken him half a day to get to the corner on the base so why should it be different at the top). Woods were surrounding the building but it was as quite under the trees as it had been on the plane. No animals seemed to be here, only the wind whispered through the branches and leaves occasionally. The trees were far away from each other and bushes were scars, which made it easy to walk through. The wide branches built a green roof over Magina and rays of sunlight streamed through, making the forest sparkle where the sun shone.

The woods ended suddenly in a straight line in front of the palace, which was still a good trip away. It was really huge. A high wall surrounded the ground but the walls of the actual building still towered over it. Magina could see two smaller towers with golden roofs, which marked the entrance and which seemed to be only for show, winding upward in a fashion that made it impossible to be inside. The palace itself had two towers as well, the first with a red crystal on top that rotated slowly in some apparatus of golden poles. The second one was the highest point on the whole platform and looked as if a whole house was placed on top, completely with balconies and windows. The rest of the palace consisted of smaller sections with red and golden roofs, mostly round, and walls adorned with sculptures and signs, sometimes highlighted with red and gold.

A way wound to the gate of the palace and it was flanked with trees. But these trees weren't green like in the forest Magina had walked through. They had golden leaves and their trunks and branches were almost white. It was definitely opulent to live in a place like that. The way was paved with cobblestones in the same colour as the walls of the palace. Since the gate was closed Magina decided to follow the way. It seemed like a good idea and he was curious about where it would lead to. The golden leaves sounded exactly like the green ones in the forest when the wind blew through and when Magina touched one it even felt like a normal one. It simply had another colour. The lighter coloured trunks now matched the palace and the path and even the grass wasn't as green as before. And it was definitely shorter, easier to walk through, almost neat.

In a bent of the road stood a smaller house, round, the walls light coloured like the palace. It had high, arched windows that were covered from the inside with deep red curtains. The doorway was framed by two pillars with golden sculptures on top and a wide staircase led up to it. On top of the red roof was a red crystal, smaller than the one in the palace. It looked as if it was strung on the bowstring of a lopsided bow and it rotated slowly. Next to the house was a nest but the bird to which it belonged had to be quite big. If there was a bird. Since there had been not one animal on the whole platform, Magina wasn't sure but why would there be a nest without something it belonged to? It wasn't as if it looked like some kind of decoration. It could be that the Invoker had some winged animal as a mount to travel to and from the platform.

Magina rounded the house and found himself in front of a garden. It was a huge square with small paths through it, some straight from one side to the other and some winding in sinuous lines. Around the square the golden trees were building a forest of gold, creating a detached place. Inside the garden smaller bushes were growing and their colour varied from golden to red, covering all shades in between. Sculptures were placed on pedestals, showing different creatures in varied poses. Some were beasts, with wings or with fangs, some bigger and some smaller, while others were human or human-like. There were warriors with raised weapons and grim expressions and women with long robes alongside of beastlike men with the body of a man and the head of an animal or the upper body of a man and the lower body of an animal. It was fascinating, like a show about the various species in the world. And some of them Magina had never seen before.

The Anti-Mage looked left and right while he followed a straight path from his entrance to the opposite side. In the middle of the garden was a fountain, the water falling in cascades over four naked women of stone, their bodies ending in fishtails and their hair artfully draped across their breasts. The path wound around the fountain and Magina saw a second entrance on the other side of the garden. And where the garden ended, the platform ended as well. It looked as if an appendage to the platform had been created, a semicircle of light stone, that projected beyond the ground of the platform, like a viewing point or something.

And there he found the Invoker. The mage was standing on the viewing point, looking out over the world in front of him, deep down on the earth. The mist around the platform created the illusion that they were not that high above the ground, but Magina knew better. He had blinked up here, step by step, and it _was_ high.

The robe of the Invoker matched the colours up here, the lighter material of his robe like the walls of the palace, trimmed with gold like the buildings. The darker colour was like the shadows between the golden trees, letting him appear to be a part of the land. The only difference was the purple of his sleeves, trousers and cape. But then the orbs around his head matched again, because they were all three red.

Magina blinked forward without hesitation. "I found you."

The Invoker turned around, a frown on his face. The wind made the cloth of his clothes wave around his frame but his face, and his hair, was protected by the high collar of his robe. The blue sky behind him and the light of the sun made him look bright and beautiful. The power he had emitted in the town war was even stronger up here. He had to be one of the heroes whose powers were diminished in the wars to even the powers of all heroes. He was absolutely gorgeous.

"I thought you might be able to. And what will you do now? Kill me, as you said earlier?"

His voice was deep and calm and sent a small shiver down of Magina's spine. The mage didn't move. He just kept looking at Magina, that slight frown making his beautiful features fierce. But he showed no emotion, not surprise about Magina's arrival, definitely not fear (which Magina hadn't expected anyway) but nothing else as well. The Anti-Mage couldn't say if the Invoker was as attracted to him as he was. Maybe he simply didn't care.

Magina wasn't sure what to do next. He took a few steps forward, elicited by this urge he felt to be near him and now he was almost in the personal space of the mage. He was definitely in attack range but he had his weapons lowered. After all this time walking through the mountains and then through this fascinating place on the platform he had finally realized that he wouldn't be able to hurt the mage in front of him. Something kept him from killing the man so maybe fate had other plans for the two of them. That realization hadn't lessened the chaos in Magina's emotions, though. It had simply calmed some part of him, the part that was drawn to the Invoker, but the problem with his oath of vengeance hadn't vanished. So, regardless of everything, he still didn't know what to do and how to handle the fact that there was a mage he _couldn't_ kill.

He sighed, and then he admitted it: "I don't know. I don't know what to do now."

The frown on the Invokers face lessened until it almost faded completely.

"Come with me."

Without another thought Magina followed the Invoker back into the garden. They walked to the left side until they came to a small esplanade with a bench next to a few golden bushes. There was no statue, nothing except the paved place and the bushes circling it. The bench stood with its back to the garden, made of pale wood and scrolled with golden bars.

The Invoker sat down and nodded for Magina to do the same.

They were both facing the woods of golden trees around the garden now, the leaves moving in the wind and their rustling the only sound to be heard.

The first to break the silence was the Invoker. Magina just didn't know what to say, how to acquit himself, so he kept silent.

"I have heard about you, that you kill every mage you can find. But I have not been able to find out why." He turned a bit and was now looking at Magina. "Why do you hate us so much that you fight against yourself so vehemently to kill me? I see your struggle, but I can't understand it."

Magina leaned forward, bracing his arms on his knees, his head hanging low. He still clutched his weapons and had to be careful not to hurt the Invoker or himself with the movement. But the blades gave him a sense of safety and secureness that he couldn't abandon.

He didn't tell this tale lightly but it was no secret. So he took a deep breath and tried to compose himself before he conjured the past. His voice was rough when he answered.

"I was still a boy when it happened. I lived in a monastery and would have become a monk eventually. It was a peaceful place to be, everything ordered and slow. The world didn't have a place inside the walls of the monastery and I liked it that way. I don't know when it began, but there was a war. At first we ignored the war and the war ignored us. But somehow it changed and they began to attack the monks. They were no warriors and so it was a slaughter. I was able to hide and witnessed it all, how the mages killed all monks though they had never done anything to them. They simply enjoyed the killing and kept going. They did it for fun!"

Magina took a deep breath. The images of this day were branded into his mind and it was hard to tell the story. He still felt the helplessness of that day, when he had been unable to do anything to stop the mages. But it seemed right to tell the Invoker, to sit next to him on this bench and talk about what had happened. It was as if the mage had a right to know about his past.

"The attackers were all mages and when they had killed the monks they began to resurrect their souls. It was awful. They were not alive but something in-between and absolutely under their control. That day, after I had seen what horrid things mages could do and still laugh about it, I swore to extinguish them all. The world would be a better place without such creatures."

A long time they both remained silent.

"I'm sorry." The Invoker sounded absolutely sincere, his voice low. "But you have to know that not all mages are like that."

"Are they not?" Magina straightened up and turned to the Invoker. He started to become angry. "All I have ever seen about mages are things like that. I have not once met a mage who has never participated in a war and I have seen them do horrid things over and over again in the years. Can you say that you never killed another? That you lived peacefully all your life? No, don't answer. I know you can't because I know your background story, at least part of it and that is enough." He stood up and took a deep breath. "I don't know why I came here. It seems I can't kill you, but I certainly don't have to interact with you. I won't stop to hunt mages, I will simply ignore your presence in the world. And I hope we will never meet again."


	10. Chapter 9

Magina turned away and began to head back, out of the garden, the way he had come. He felt like the Invoker didn't understand him, as if he disregarded his hatred and dismissed it as not justified. But it was!

He would have to take the same way down from the platform he had used to get up because it was the only path of which he could be sure that it would lead him down. But it also meant that he had to spend the night up here because the sun was already setting and even if he blinked as often as he could he wouldn't reach the edge of the platform before the sun had gone down. Eventually he could use his Hearth Stone to get away but the additional time on foot would help him clear his mind. He didn't know what he had expected to gain by searching the Invoker but clearly it had not worked. He had just reached the entrance of the garden when the Invoker grabbed his arm.

"Wait. Stay. Don't go."

Magina spun around and glared at the mage. "Why not?"

The frown had reappeared on the Invokers face. "I… please don't. I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you angry. You are right, I have participated in wars but I have my own reasons for it. Don't you think the mages tell horror stories about you? So maybe the world would be better without you as well? I definitely understand your wish for vengeance, I was on a similar quest some time ago. But in the end it will gain you nothing, that much I can tell you. But first of all, there are mages who don't participate in wars. I have met some. And second, I don't engage anymore. I have changed and I don't let the world get to me anymore" He shrugged. "Like I said, I learned not to let the wish for vengeance consume me and I decided to let the world be. I have a long time ago stopped to let the matters of the world affect me." His frown deepened and he looked onto the ground. He still had his hand on Magina's arm and the Anti-Mage could feel the warmth of his fingers on his skin. He had strong hands, his skin soft.

"I can't change the past but I can say that I have changed. And I can't change your past but maybe it is time for you to not let it consume you like it does. Don't you think you deserve to live a happy life instead of chasing after mages all day long and see only dead and blood?"

Magina had honestly never thought about that. He had simply gone on after a kill, the vengeance and the hatred driving him on. Not once had he stopped to think about how his life could be. He only knew how his life had been if the mages hadn't slaughtered the monks. But when he looked at the golden trees around him, at the cobblestone path and at the magnificent palace, it was as if this could be a place where he could live another life. One where he didn't chase mages and where he wasn't a monk, either. A third possibility, one he had never before thought about. And when he looked at the Invoker, at the frown on his beautiful features that didn't make him look fierce this time but rather vulnerable somehow, he felt a tug in his heart. A tug towards the mage in front of him, though he was sure the vulnerability was a trick of the light.

Could he, this far away from the world, for a man he had just met and who was a mage, put his vengeance aside? But it wouldn't be for the Invoker. It would be even more for himself. So he would have the chance for happiness. He mulled over it for a long time. The Invoker released his arm and took a step back and Magina raised his gaze to his. He looked into those white eyes and behind him the sun touched the rim of the platform, bathing everything in a soft red glow.

He was still not absolutely sure about what he should do but somehow it felt so right to be here on this platform together with the Invoker. As if he had waited his whole life for this. Magina didn't know if he could just snap his fingers and forget the hatred he had for all things magic. But maybe it was time to try it. And the separation of this platform from the rest of the world would make it so much easier.

Of course there were still way too many evil mages in the world but was it really his job to kill them all? Or maybe he could simply take a break, stay here a while and look to what it would lead. He could still go back afterwards and continue chasing mages. It couldn't hurt to stay here for a while and to let the world take care of itself. It had worked before the Anti-Mage had begun his quest so it still had to work without him.

The red light of the fading sun let the blond hair of the Invoker glow softly and his eyes got warmer. His beauty seemed so absolute, Magina wondered why he was still hesitating.

He stepped forward and dropped his weapons. The clatter of the metal on the cobblestones was loud in the silence around them and the Invoker gave a slight jerk. The mage was a few inches taller and Magina had to tilt his head a little to keep their gazes locked together.

He took a deep breath. Now he would change his life, change what he was and what he did. Even if it would be only for a limited time, it was a change he had never even contemplated before.

"Okay. I think it might be worth a try to stay for a while."

The Invoker searched his face, as if he didn't believe him, as if he was searching for a sign that he had heard correctly. And Magina wanted to give him that sign. So he took another deep breath and did something he had never done before. He smiled. It was only the hint of a smile, the corners of his mouth tugged upward the tiniest bit. But it was the right thing to do. The Invoker seemed to relax and his frown disappeared.

"I am Kael'thas Sunstrider. Welcome in my realm. If you care to follow me I will show you were you can put your weapons. I will also show you around since my palace is rather spacious." He bowed his head slightly as a gesture of welcome. Then he waited until Magina had picked up his weapons before heading in the direction of his palace. The switch to that overly polite behaviour was a little strange but Magina said nothing. He had expected some other reaction but maybe he had been hoping for too much too fast. Only because he had that extreme physical reaction to the mage didn't mean the mage felt the same. Or that he would directly act on it.

It was getting darker very fast now but suddenly in front of them on the sides of the path lights began to glow. They were red orbs, the size of a fist, and hovering in the air. They didn't shine very brightly but gave just enough light for Magina to see the path and the man beside him. They passed the house on the bent and neared the gate to the palace. The gates opened of their own accord and swung outward silently. When they had walked through, they closed in the same manner.

The palace had a main entrance with a wide staircase, the door framed by statues acting as pillars to a high archway. The whole palace inside of the walls was illuminated by those red glowing orbs that floated everywhere. When Magina looked back he could see that they dimmed behind them and eventually they went out. As if they were attuned to the Invoker. Kael'thas. He repeated the name a few times in his head to get the feeling of the foreign sounding syllables. It was an old name, but the Invoker _was_ very old. Magina felt like a child compared to the mage and he was suddenly nervous and insecure, something that had surely never happened before.

They entered the palace and Kael'thas turned right immediately. They followed a wide hallway with a few closed doors on the left side.

"I don't use the rooms behind these doors, therefore they are closed. You are welcome to look behind them if you wish, though. I will show you the rooms I use and the ones where you can stay. Everything else is open to your curiosity."

Magina wanted to ask why he lived in such a big palace if he didn't need all that space but he simply nodded. The Invoker glanced at him shortly but said nothing more. The hallway made a turn at a corner and opened directly into a huge room. It had a high ceiling and windows that began at the floor and reached up to the ceiling. The red glow from the orbs from outside was visible through the windows. They were framed by red curtains and the window sills were wide enough to sit on them, which meant the walls were thick enough to create such wide window sills. The room was empty except a huge table with exactly two chairs, one at the side of the windows and one across from it, and more of those statues that had already been in the garden and at the doorways. To compensate the lack of furniture, the floor and the ceiling were mosaicked with swirls of red and gold and here the purple of the Invoker's tunic was to be found. There seemed to be no pattern behind the mosaic and it made the room look opulent. The orbs in here shone brighter and illuminated the whole room.

"This is the dining room. The meal will be ready in a few minutes. I will get more comfortable before dinner and I will show you the room you can stay in so you can put everything that you don't need away. Maybe freshen up a bit. Does that suit you?"

Magina nodded again. He had never been in such an imposing room, least of all in a palace. The only things that kept him calm were the silence all around and the deep voice of the mage next to him. His presence somehow soothed him.

They left the hall through a door on one side and entered a smaller hallway. The doors here were all open and in the first one was a bed and at least a chest and a wardrobe. While passing it Kael'thas identified it as his room. They passed a few more open doors, one definitely a library and one that looked like a laboratory. Nearly at the end of the hallway the Invoker stopped.

"This is the room where you can stay. You will find everything you need inside. When you are ready, you are free to join me in the hall for dinner. Now please excuse me."

Entering the room, Magina thought that it looked very similar to the bedroom they had passed, the one the Invoker used. A huge bed in the middle, a chest, a wardrobe and a table with a basin of water. The wardrobe was open and empty and the basin was filled with water, a towel on the back of the chair ready to be used. A weapon rack on one side seemed almost to be designed for his weapons and he put them there. His backpack was stashed in the wardrobe. Then he took his gloves off, put them on the table and used the water to wash his hands and his face.

He sat down on the bed and took a few moments to gather. He had gone from hunting a mage to staying in a mage's palace in no time at all. And the Invoker seemed so sure and confident about everything, it made Magina realize that he knew nothing about living in such a place. He only knew how to survive outside of a house, how to find mages, how to skirt unnecessary danger and how to kill. Nothing of those skills was of use here. And again he wondered why he had kept going after the Invoker even when he had admitted to himself that he couldn't kill him.

But when he went to the hall and entered the room, at least that question was answered.

The Invoker stood at one of the windows, looking outside. He had removed all his armour, his cape and the neck protection. He was now only wearing his tunic over his shirt and the trousers. Though Magina had thought especially the neck protection and the shoulder plates had only been to make the mage look more imposing he had to say that he didn't need those things to achieve that. Without those entire things his body was outlined and Magina could see that he really had wide shoulders and he seemed not to lack muscles underneath those clothes. He still emitted this aura of confidence and power even though he looked more like a normal man now. Or like a normal elf, with this pointed ears. His hair was still tied back from his face and fell straight to his shoulders. It looked darker and shimmered red in the light of the orbs outside. The Invoker's features seemed softer in the light, not so fierce and hard, more welcoming, though he scowled like always.

He looked spectacular in the low light and Magina felt the already familiar tingling in his body and the tug towards him, the urge to be near him growing into the _need_ to be near him. He took a step forward and Kael'thas turned his head and looked at Magina. "Come in." He indicated the chair on the opposite side of the windows. "Take a seat."

He then walked to the other chair. The table was already set, a plate for both of them and a glass with water next to it. On the table were fruit and vegetables, some salad and bread. Magina hesitated a little but he was hungry and had only eaten dried meals for weeks. They ate in silence and Magina cast glances at the Invoker from time to time. But the meal was good and when he was full the Anti-Mage leaned back and sighed.

The Invoker had finished as well and now he stood up. "Let's go to the library. It is more comfortable there."

Inside of the library was a couch flanked by two armchairs in front of a fireplace. Two small tables stood next to one of the armchairs, one was filled with glasses of varying sizes and forms and on the other one several bottles were lined up. They contained different kinds of alcohol.

Kael'thas took one of the bottles and filled two glasses with a golden liquid. He handed one to Magina and sat down in one of the armchairs.

So Magina took the other, sniffing at the drink in his hand while sitting down. He had not had alcohol often because first he didn't want to get drunk and second he didn't have enough money to buy some. He decided not to try it because it didn't smell that good. Why ever others drank it, it couldn't be because of the smell. And when it tasted like it smelled it couldn't be because of the taste, either. Since he still didn't want to get drunk there seemed to be no reason for him to drink it.

He kept the glass in his hand, though. He was used to always having his weapons with him so it was strange to have his hands empty. He cast a look at the Invoker from the corner of his eyes and saw the mage scowling at him. The bright light from the lamps inside this room had chased the softness from his features.

He looked gorgeous but somehow unreachable and Magina felt absolutely out of place. He had thought that he would know what to do when he had found the Invoker but he still didn't. He felt still as off balance as before. So he stood up and put his glass on the table.

"I'll go to sleep."

The Invoker didn't respond other than nod in his direction and so Magina headed to the room where he had put his things. He took off everything except his trousers and got into bed. It was soft and comfortable and Magina sighed as he drifted into sleep.


	11. Chapter 10

The Anti-Mage was awake again after a few hours. When he opened his eyes and moved, the light in the room began to shine softly and he looked around. He stayed in bed a little simply to enjoy that he _could_ , but soon he felt too agitated to lie still any longer. He stood up and began to go through his fighting routine. That took a few more hours but still it was extremely early. He had no windows in the room but he suspected it was still dark outside.

He dressed and went to the hall. The lights in front of him began to shine when he advanced and behind him they dimmed. So they were not attuned to the Invoker but maybe to movement. It was nice, though.

In the hall he spent some time looking at the statues and then he went to one of the windows to gaze outside. The table was empty and there was nothing else to do until the Invoker was awake. So Magina used the time to go over the events of the day before. Yes, he was in the palace of the mage and yes, he was friendly enough and the attraction Magina felt towards him was still there, but he had all evening been very reserved and Magina just felt out of place. Not only because of the place itself, but also because of the Invoker's behaviour. He was just so _polite_ all the time.

Staying here with him like that would never do. Magina didn't even know if the attraction he felt was one sided because the Invoker had done nothing to indicate that he was attracted to Magina. He had hoped for something else, especially after the mage had asked him to stay. He had never had a relationship with someone but if it was like that he didn't want one.

Taking a deep breath Magina went to his room again to get his things. As soon as the Invoker was up he would tell him his decision and then use his Hearth Stone to get away. He would get to a tavern in some city he had been to but he didn't really cared where the Stone would take him to, if only it was far enough away.

He shouldered his backpack and took his weapons. He felt a little better with the familiar weight of the blades. He was sad though, because he didn't really want to leave. This place was fantastic and the silence up here suited him. He certainly wouldn't mind if the Invoker was taciturn all the time but this distance he was keeping, it was like a wall between them and it made Magina as crazy as not being able to kill the mage had made him before.

Hearing a sound behind him, Magina turned around. The Invoker was standing in the doorway, only with trousers and shirt, his feet bare, and frowned at him. Magina's breath caught. The man was just so gorgeous that it was difficult for him to breathe. They stared at each other for a few moments until Kael'thas gaze dropped to the weapons in his hands. He cleared his throat but his voice was nonetheless rough from sleep when he spoke.

"What do you plan to do?"

"I'm sorry, but I have decided to go."

"Go? You mean, like leave?"

Magina nodded.

"But… why? Have I done something wrong? Did I offend you somehow?"

"No. No, you haven't offended me." The rest he left unanswered because, well, he did leave because the Invoker had not met Magina's expectations. But he didn't want to say that.

"I have done something wrong, then?"

Magina could have sworn that Kael'thas looked kind of panicked suddenly and when he took a step forward and the light shone onto him completely he was absolutely sure. It was the first time the Invoker showed emotions, or maybe the second time, if it hadn't been a trick of the light back in the gardens when he had asked him to stay. Maybe he really didn't want him to leave. But that alone wasn't _enough_.

"Why do you want me to stay, then?" He would try to get an answer to that question. If Kael'thas didn't want him to leave, he had to have a reason and Magina had the feeling it was important to find out what this reason was.

His frown deepened but the panic seemed to fade a little. "I'm not really good at those things."

"Which things?"

"Talking."

Magina was perplexed. The Invoker had just admitted to not being good at something. He was sure that didn't happen often. Then he had to smile. It seemed that was something they had in common. The not-good-at-talking thing. A thought struck him: maybe that could be the reason for his reserve, couldn't it? He hadn't known about what he should talk, so he had said nothing at all, or only the polite phrases that he knew to use as a host.

He wasn't good at talking either, but if that was the problem between them they could surely work on that. A tiny spark of hope began to bloom inside Magina. He didn't want it, but when it was there he just _had_ to act on it.

Kael'thas had admitted to a weakness and now it was Magina's turn to do something. But how? And what?

"Anti-Mage?"

Now it was Magina's turn to scowl. "Why don't you call me by my name?"

"You haven't told me."

And that was the moment where Magina realised that it hadn't been only the Invoker's fault that the last evening hadn't gone so smooth. It seemed he hadn't been the most forthcoming either. Yes, he had been a little intimidated by his surroundings but he should have realised that the Invoker, living in such a place, alone for probably a very long time, wouldn't be the most practiced of conversationalists. He hadn't made it easy for the mage. He hadn't even told him his name let alone given him an opening to a conversation! And he could have started with a topic as well, could have asked the Invoker the questions he still had, about the palace and about his life here.

"I'm sorry. I'm Magina. It seems we are both not very good at talking. But maybe we should both try." He took a deep breath before he continued. "How about we make a deal? I tell you why I came here and you tell me why you want me to stay. It will be equally difficult for both of us so it's only fair."

A nod from the Invoker.

The sun had begun to rise and yellow light flooded into the room. Magina looked at the floor and grabbed his weapons tighter. "At first I thought it was because you wield much more magic than other mages but that's not it. Every time I see you my whole body starts to tingle. It feels like I have to get closer to you, as if all my body wants is the contact with yours. It is sometimes almost like a physical tug but it is inside of my chest. And you are so unbelievably beautiful that I can't _breathe_ when I look at you. I am stunned and can only stare. And these vibes of absolute confidence, power and self-assurance that you give off are really attractive. So I was curious about you and why my body refused to obey when I wanted to kill you. I kind of wanted to see if you as a whole are as attractive as your body promises. And if you really could be someone I would like to spend more time with, including in an intimate fashion, like my body suggests."

Then he looked up again and when their gazes caught a tiny shiver raced down his spine. Because there, on Kael'thas' face, he could see his feeling mirrored back. His throat was suddenly very dry.

The Invoker cleared his throat. "Thank you. I don't know if I like being called beautiful, but thanks. I kind of knew, I saw how you wanted to kill me and couldn't. But it is way different to suspect something and to hear that it's true. Well, I suppose it's my turn now. I want you to stay for many reasons. Some are just that I would like a companion up here after all these years, that I would like to have company, to be able to talk to someone I know. But I suppose I could get that from others as well. I want _you_ to stay here because I am highly attracted to you. The first time I saw you I was so captivated by your appearance that I forgot to keep fighting. I just stared at your body, your muscled arms and how you wielded those weapons of yours… I had the impossible urge to step up to you and put my hands on your skin so I could feel those muscles flex. My heartbeat accelerates when I look at you and I'm sure I have never wanted to touch something or someone as badly as I want to touch you. I like your courage and your loyalty and your endurance. I've heard you never give up and that you never failed to kill a mage you've begun to pursuit. And since you even found me, I am sure that is true. Such strong willpower is highly fascinating."

When Magina's gaze dropped he could see how Kael'thas had clenched his fists, as if he was holding himself back. And with what he had said, he probably was.

The weapons in his hands were suddenly too heavy and he placed them on the table (simply because the table top was in reach).

When their gazes met again the air around them seemed to charge with electricity. Kael'thas must really have been holding back because now his gaze was _burning_ , his desire more than evident on his features. And it was desire for _him_!

The question was: why was he holding back? The last evening would have gone differently if he had told Magina from the beginning how he felt. Or if he had just acted like it.

"Why have you been so reserved then, yesterday?"

"I wanted to make a good impression. Since I'm a mage and all. And you are the Anti-Mage."

That was the reason? He had wanted to make a good impression and because of that Magina had wanted to walk away. That was just weird. So he shook his head.

"Don't. Don't try to make a good impression like that. I think I'm coming to terms with you being a mage somehow and I surely don't want you to be like you were yesterday. Especially not if it was only to impress me. Because it didn't work. If I stay with you, I have to learn to cope with your magic, don't you think?"

"Well, I had hoped you would. But I didn't want to confront you with it directly."

"Okay, I appreciate the thought. But I think it's alright. I had much time to think about your being a mage and surprisingly it doesn't bother me anymore."

"Are you sure?" Kael'thas frowned again.

Magina was sure. He nodded. Something had changed over the last days. Maybe it was this place, the way it made him feel like he was not a part of the world, but that didn't matter, at least not now. His body and his mind had relaxed throughout their conversation, as if the decision to stay here had chased away all the tension.

The tension that was now slowly gripping his body was not the indecision and confusion of before. He smiled a little at the gorgeous man in front of him, but Kael'thas was still frowning and though Magina saw the desire on his face the mage didn't react on it. He kept standing on one spot, his body motionless, his hands clenched into fists. He was sending absolutely mixed signals and the Anti-Mage wasn't really sure how to react. Why didn't the Invoker move? Why was he still holding himself back?

"Kael'thas, what do you expect now?" Magina asked carefully, unsure how to proceed. He had never been in any kind of relationship and he didn't know what would be expected of him now. He had hoped the Invoker would take the reins and he could just move along with it.

"Kael, please. And I'm not really sure. I don't interact with others often and I don't do dating stuff or relationships. This is new territory and I, well, I'm somehow at a loss. I don't want to scare you off because I do something wrong or because I move to fast."

So he had hoped Magina would lead and had simply not moved at all. Underneath the front of the most powerful mage seemed to be an uncertain man and so Magina would make the first step. He didn't mind to be the one in charge and he would do so until Kael had realized that he couldn't scare him away that easily. Not now when he knew how the mage was feeling towards him.

He definitely planned to stay. He now knew that the Invoker hadn't been so distant towards him because it was his character but because he was unsecure in some things. Looking at him it seemed it was his way to cover this insecurity. And now that he knew it, Magina could deal with it. For example: he could ask, as he had done, and since he had gotten an answer he was sure he would get an answer in the future as well. He just had to take the time to talk to Kael and that was something, though he wasn't good at talking, he could definitely do. They would have much time to practice the talking over the years to come.

But now he decided he had done enough talking. They had settled the most important thing, namely how they felt towards each other, and now it was indeed time to move. With coming problems they would deal when they would arise.

And so Magina threw his backpack on the table, next to his weapons, removed his gloves and started for the door behind Kael. Because in no way would he initiate anything in this room where there was not one comfortable corner.

He took Kael's hand and the mage followed him willingly, down the hallway and into his own room. Here they had a bed and here Magina could, finally, do what he had craved from the first time he had really seen the Invoker, had looked into his beautiful face: he stepped up to him, until their bodies were touching, until the only things between them were their clothes. He rose on tiptoes a little to gap the small difference in size. Their faces were only inches apart and Magina's heart was beating fast, his whole body thrumming in anticipation of what was to come. He laid one hand on Kael's shoulder and the other on his neck, the strands of his blond hair soft on Magina's skin.

Their gazes were locked and Magina could see the same anticipation he was feeling mirrored in the white eyes of the mage. But he had made many steps in his direction and now he was waiting, their lips almost touching, for the Invoker to gap this last nibble.

And when he finally moved, it was like heaven. Soft lips, firm hands and a strong body. Magina's senses were overwhelmed from all this sensations. He had _never_ imaged that it would be that good and if some doubts about Kael being a mage had still been on his mind they all vanished now. His mind was whirling and his body was on fire. When Kael stopped, it took him long moments to gather himself. Then he frowned. "Why did you stop? Is something wrong?"

He definitely hoped not, because he _really_ wanted to keep going. He wanted to feel Kael's skin under his hands, against his own skin, wanted to kiss and taste and explore that gorgeous body he was currently pressed against.

"No. Nothing is wrong. It's just… You won't go, will you? You won't leave me?"

Magina stilled. Well, it was definitely a fitting question since he had been about to leave not long ago and he hadn't _told_ Kael that he had changed his mind. They so had to work on their communication, but if that was the only problem, they could do it. They could be together and at the moment, except maybe for Kael to continue kissing him, there was nothing he wanted more than to be with Kael.

"Yes, I will stay. I'm sure it won't be easy for us but I want to be with you and I want to stay with you. Now stop thinking so much. I _promise_ I won't leave you."

He tugged Kael's head down, fisted his hand in his hair and pressed their lips together. It felt like he had sealed his promise and Kael felt it too. He pressed their bodies tighter together and Magina's last thought, before he lost (at least temporary) his ability to think, was that his past finally didn't have a hold on him anymore. All this years of vengeance hadn't been able to ease the memory of that awful day but to be with Kael, the Invoker, let him make peace. His future looked better from moment to moment, because it wasn't only his future now. It included Kael and it was _their_ future he was looking at.


	12. The Darkmoon Faire (additional scene)

The Darkmoon Faire

"Kael."

No answer. Magina tried again.

"Kael!"

He sat up and turned around. Kael'thas was sitting on the bench, a book floating in the air in front of him. One arm was draped on the back of the bench, the arm against which Magina had been leaning. The three orbs where flying around his head, all three glowing orange, and he was totally focused on his book. He didn't wear his complete mage robes, only a shirt and trousers, like he did more often now. Magina liked it because all this cloth just hid the gorgeous body of his and it took way too long to peel him out of them. And, this way he could feel him when they were sitting like they were now, side by side in the garden, reading.

"Kael'thas Sunstrider!"

That finally got a reaction from him. He looked up, his white eyes focusing on him. He didn't respond. Magina had learned over the months where he had been living here that, as unlikely as it might sound, he was the talkative of them.

Strange enough, it worked, though.

Magina touched one of Kael's pointed ears. "I'm bored." He had put his book down next to him on the bench. He had finished it and didn't feel like starting the next one. It was nice to have the time to read as much as he wanted and to have millions of books to choose from, but right now he wanted to _do_ something.

Kael frowned. "We already had sex two times this morning."

Magina imitated his frown and his absolutely neutral tone. "We only had sex two times this morning."

"Are you teasing me?" Kael's frown deepened and he finally turned away from his book with his whole body, one knee tugged on the bench between them.

"Now that I have your whole attention," the Anti-Mage smiled, "I would like to suggest something else."

"You were teasing me."

"Of course I was. When you look like that," he imitated the frown again, "I just can't help myself. Especially when you talk about sex and look like that. As if you don't enjoy it."

"I do enjoy it."

"I know! That's why I tease you! Now come. We have been here for almost a year now. I would like to go somewhere else with you. A bar, or an inn, or maybe one of those ruins I heard about in the marches. Or to the beach or, I don't know, maybe something you like to do?"

The Invoker looked at Magina for long moments. "You want to go to a public place with me?"

"Why not?"

His arm still on the back of the bench, Kael placed his hand on Magina's neck, his thumb stroking along his jaw line. "Because I am well known in the world. Everywhere we go I will be recognized. And they will all wonder who that beautiful boy at my side is. They will talk about you and someone will realize, sooner rather than later, who you are."

"You think it will bother me?"

"I don't want them to laugh about the Anti-Mage who has fallen for the most powerful of mages. And I might be afraid of your reaction to such comments. I don't want you to leave me."

His hand was now cradling Magina's head, his fingers tracing the purple tattoos on his skin, feeling the stubbles after three days of not shaving.

"You have been staying here, alone with me for this year, on purpose."

"Yes."

Magina was quite for a while. He thought about what Kael had said and didn't simply brush it off as bullshit. He hadn't really thought about it that way and he imagined such a scenario in his mind. The hand on his neck was warm, the movement of Kael's fingers on his skin like a connection between him and the mage. They were almost always touching, as soon as they were near each other. They were still drawn to each other like the first day they had met, in the town war, where Magina had tried with everything he had to kill the Invoker. It seemed awfully long ago now.

"You would stay with me here for the rest of our lives?"

Kael shrugged. "Better than losing you because of some shitty comments."

"Do you _want_ to stay here for the rest of our lives?"

The mage hesitated. He was a loner, had been his whole life, but even he left his island in the sky from time to time.

Before Magina had met Kael he would never have thought that he could live together with a mage and that he could be content with it. But he had changed. He wasn't that vengeful creature from before, who had only wanted to get revenge for the killing of the monks in his monastery. He had never been as happy as he had been with Kael this last year. And, with the Invoker still caressing him, he realized that he would never leave him. He belonged here, with the most powerful of mages.

He placed his hand above his and smiled. "Trust me. Some comments from some dumbass creatures won't get me to leave you." The frown on Kael's face lessened, until it was almost gone. He never smiled and he was only completely relaxed when they were in bed together. Magina didn't care. His not frowning was almost as good as a smile to him. And he knew that, after centuries and centuries of solitude, it had to be hard for Kael to get used to someone by his side in whose presence he could let his guard down and simply be. It had been hard for Magina as well but he wasn't nearly as old as the mage and had adapted astonishingly fast.

He had learned how to live and he felt carefree and unbelievably happy. And maybe, he thought, it was time to leave the safety of Kael's home. He had travelled a great part of the world in search for mages but he had never had time to enjoy it. Now, with Kael as his mate, he wanted to explore it anew, with a different view on life and with leisure.

Not wanting to wait for an answer any longer, he kissed Kael, still with a smile on his face, and when he stood up, he tugged him with him. Hand in hand they went back to the palace to get ready, Kael to get dressed and Magina to retrieve his weapons and put some of his armour on. He had crafted something to strap his blades onto his back and had practiced to draw them. He had wanted to have his hands free because he liked the feeling of holding hands with Kael but he didn't want to be unarmed. The blades on his back were a good solution though it hadn't been easy to find a way to carry them so they didn't annoy him but were still easy and fast enough to draw in case of a fight.

They met in the main hall. Kael had put his most imposing robe on, the collar high, the shoulders wide and a long cape falling from his shoulders. He looked absolutely dangerous, his frown in place as always. He was gorgeous and Magina was suddenly hit by the realization that this stunning man belonged to him, as he belonged to the mage.

The Invoker still seemed to be unsure if it was a good idea to leave his home but Magina believed it was time. "Trust me," he repeated. "We can't stay here till the end of time and I promise I won't leave you. I chose to live with you and to quit my quest for vengeance and for all the time I'm with you now I won't regret this choice."

"I trust you." He handed Magina a stone with runes caved into the surface. "It is a Hearth Stone with my house as home. It is yours."

It was like giving someone the key to your house. It hadn't been important until now, because they had never left the platform in the sky, but it was a huge display of trust. Not that Magina wouldn't have been able to get here again, but not many would be and by giving him access to a Hearth Stone like that, Kael was vulnerable. Anyone could use the stone.

"Thank you." He packed the stone away. He didn't think he would need it because he didn't intend to leave Kael but one never knew what might happen. It was the fastest and safest way to return here.

Walking down the way to the aerie of Kael's manticore, they didn't talk but were holding hands again. It was strange to do so with them both fully equipped.

"Where do you want to go?" Kael asked as he petted the manticore's head. The beast began to purr, a deep, rumbling sound, and pushed against the hand between his ears. Magina had thought about it before. There were a few places he had liked very much throughout his travels but didn't have time to spent time at. Some were very secluded but others were visited on a regular basis. At first he had wanted to choose one of the places where they would definitely be alone but after Kael had voiced his fear he was sure that that wouldn't do. It would be nice but on some primitive level Magina _wanted_ to world to know that he and Kael were mates. And he wanted Kael to know that, no matter what was whispered behind his back, he wouldn't leave.

On one side he was a little unsure about how he would feel when everyone was talking about him, the Anti-Mage, side by side with the Invoker. But on the other side, it would be a claim, too. Because it would not only mean he was with Kael but Kael was also with _him_. And though he might not like the talk, it would never be enough to make him abandon the best that had ever happened to him. The past year had been the best of his life and he sure as hell wanted more of it.

The manticore waited patiently, as did the Invoker. And Magina choose. "Let's go to the Darkmoon Island."

Kael blinked. "To the Darkmoon Island?"

"Yes." Magina smiled, because it was the best idea of all. It would be fun.

"You want to go to a fair with me?"

Now he was grinning, because Kael sounded so unbelieving. And just picturing him on a fair _was_ funny. He didn't belong there and his expression indicated that he would never go to one of his own accord. But first, it was a neutral zone, like the starting platforms for the town wars, and second, it was an extremely informal surrounding. They wouldn't stick out so much because all species in the world went to the Darkmoon Faire so it would be a mix of creatures from all fractions. And there would probably be unusual mates as well. He didn't think that no one would notice them but in every other place they would be like an angel in hell. Or a tree in the desert. An anomaly, which would be stared at by everyone. The fair wasn't as bad as that.

And when Magina had been there he had been searching for someone and had only shortly looked at everything. This time he intended to actually try everything and play every game that was offered there.

"Yes, to the Darkmoon Faire."

Kael put his hand on Magina's cheek and leaned his forehead against his. "You are wonderful," he breathed. "It is a wonderful idea." They stood like that for a minute, forehead against forehead, Kael's hand warm on Magina's face, their breaths mingling.

Then the mage stepped back and he wasn't frowning when he mounted the manticore. He looked at Magina.

"You sure the manticore can carry us both?" the Anti-Mage asked. "With all this equipment we are quite heavy, even alone."

"I'm sure. Now come."

As soon as they were both sitting comfortably, Magina pressed against Kael's back, the beast spread its wings and took off.


	13. The Darkmoon Faire part 2

It didn't take them long to reach the Darkmoon Island. The mountains, in which the platform was located, bordered on the sea and they only had to follow the coastline a little before they could see many different flying mounts heading onto the open sea. They followed their direction and just as the continent vanished from their view behind them they could see the island on the horizon. It wasn't the most beautiful of islands, the vegetation all dark, black and purple, dark mountains on one side of the island, the grass dark as well. And then there was the fair.

Tents in all sizes were set up along the only road through the island. On one end of the road was a giant archway and on the other it ended with a runway into the sea. It was often used for fishing and it was the starting point for some race.

Everything was colourful and bright, the tents as well as the owners of those tens. It was loud as well, vendors shouting out their wares and prices, children running around and playing hide and seek or tag and creatures from all races in the world milling around. And from one tent loud music could be heard. Some band had to be playing there.

Magina and Kael landed on the runway because there was the most space except outside of the fair. The manticore only waited for them to dismount before it flew off again. They didn't need it to get back so it didn't have to wait in this loud and crowded place.

Without thinking Magina took Kael's hand while they looked around. The grip of the mage was astonishingly tight but when he looked at him his face betrayed nothing. He was frowning as always, not discernible why he almost crushed Magina's hand. It felt a little like he was afraid that the Anti-Mage would run away and wanted to make sure that he couldn't.

Magina stepped in front of him and tugged at his collar. When he had his undivided attention he smiled, fisted his hand in the blond hair at the Invoker's neck and brought their lips together. It was a hard kiss, short, only to serve as a reassurance to make it clear to the man, who was still clutching his hand, that he would go nowhere without him.

It worked, because Kael relaxed a little though for an outside it would never be visible. The mage had had centuries to practice his fierce and matter-of-fact face, no one who didn't know him very good would be able to read him. And since Magina was at present the only one who knew him good enough, that was it.

"Ready?" He was still smiling a little. It was sweet that the most powerful of mages feared something as well. Who would have guessed that?

As soon as they stepped onto the street an extremely small woman handed them a blue balloon, which was floating in the air. It had some crest on it but Magina didn't know it. It wasn't as if he had ever been interested in the structure of the fractions in the world. He had killed mages no matter where they belonged. That was the only thing that had never been a problem between him and Kael: that they belonged to different races. They both didn't care.

Magina held the balloon out to Kael, whose frown deepened. "I'm the Invoker. You really want me to carry a blue balloon with the crest of the alliance on it?" The Anti-Mage shrugged. "Because it's a balloon or because of the crest?"

"Does it matter?"

"Well, if it's because it's a balloon I would laugh about you, because, you know, we _are_ on a fair. If it's the crest I would laugh about you, because I can just picture the mighty Invoker aligning himself with the unworthy alliance and showing his affiliation with a balloon."

Kael squinted his eyes at Magina. "Thank you so much." He snatched the cord of the balloon. His tone was dry, but there was a hint of humour underneath. The Anti-Mage had just found out how much fun it was to tease the always stern mage, and now he couldn't stop anymore. Lucky for him it didn't look as if he minded. Now he was carrying the balloon and Magina had to fight hard not to laugh. Because it did look out of place, the Invoker exuding power with every pore of his being, holding the cord of a balloon on a fair.

They passed the first shops, which offered food and drink from various species. It smelled delicious, mostly, but they walked on.

In front of them a small crown had gathered. They were watching two tauren, who were holding some device in their hands. They were steering two racing cars and seemed to be competing against each other. Some of the watchers had devices and racing cars as well so it had to be some bigger competition.

Magina turned towards Kael to say something and registered that the mage was utterly focused on the race. He didn't move, just kept watching so the Anti-Mage did the same. He cast looks at Kael from time to time but he really was interested in what was going on there. The loser of the race was replaced by someone in the crowd and it started again.

The crowd was cheering and booing, but the tauren who had won did so again. And again. He was good, Magina thought. And still Kael watched.

"You want to challenge him?" Magina asked as the next loser left the middle of the crowd.

"I don't have a car."

"That is your only objection?"

"Yes."

"Well, that problem should be solved easily. Have you ever prticipated in such a race?"

"Not exactly."

He raised his brows. 'Not exactly' could mean anything, especially with a centuries old mage. He didn't ask any more questions, though, because he saw some merchant standing close to them, who sold mechanical toys. He tugged Kael with him, not wanting to let go of his hand.

"You sell these cars with the device as well?" Magina asked and pointed at the tauren on the street.

The merchant pointed to a tent a little back the street. "The gnome with the pink hair, she does." He looked at their clasped hands, then at the Invoker, but said nothing.

"Thanks."

The car was bought and Magina even took the balloon so Kael had his hand free. So far everything was fine. The fair really had been a good idea. Not many creatures were paying attention to them and even those who did didn't seem overly shocked or in bewilderment.

When they were back to the race the tauren was still the undefeated competitor. They kept watching, seeing one after the other loose against the tauren. The crowd was growing but the ones who wanted to challenge the beast were getting fewer.

After the next race no one stepped forward anymore. The tauren looked around, scanning the faces around him. "No one left to try his luck?"

Magina wasn't sure if he should give Kael a little push. But he didn't need to. The mage stepped forward. The Anti-Mage trailed behind because the elf didn't release his hand until they were standing in front of the tauren.

The creature was at least a head taller but the Invoker looked at him as he wasn't even aware of that fact. Without a word he placed his car on the ground and took his place. Magina had backed away a little to be out of the way. When Kael looked in his direction he smiled. He was curious if his mate was any good at such a game but he was sure that he would never take such a challenge if he wasn't. He would never do something that would let him look weak or ridiculous. He didn't have to win, it just had to be close.

The race started and Magina held his breath. And through the crowd he could hear the word 'Invoker' travel from mouth to mouth. He was known, throughout the entire world.

It was exciting. Both cars were head to head almost all the time and it was up to the end not clear who would be the winner. When it was over the crown was cheering and the tauren took Kael's hand, after they had both put their cars away. "That was impressive. You are the first one who was a real challenge today. Want to join me for a drink? It's on me."

Kael turned to him and Magina, grinning from ear to ear, approached. "Absolutely cool!" he said. "I'd never have guessed that the most powerful of mages is good at a device car race."

His features softened and his white eyes were locked onto Magina's. He touched his cheek lightly were one of the purple marks was. For a second the Anti-Mage thought he would kiss him, right in the middle of the crowd, but he turned back to the tauren. He grabbed his hand, though, and pulled him to his side. "We would like to join you."

The tauren raised his brows but only nodded. They fell into step and the tauren guided them to a bar in one of the bigger tents. It was filled with the less human creatures of the fair, like orcs, tauren, undead, ghosts, demons and so on. A few elves were among them as well, as were some assassins, whose races weren't discernible. And some creatures that were extremely strange and seldom seen. The Invoker stood out in this crowd like a beacon with his bright robe and the orbs around his head. Even the Anti-Mage almost belonged with the dark colour of his clothes and the marks on his skin.

They took a small table and the tauren waved at the waitress. He had to be here often because the woman brought some drinks immediately. They drank and the tauren turned out to be someone who liked to talk. It was fun, because he knew some really good stories, especially about the fair. There had been the strangest happenings here, but "… to see the Invoker hand in hand with the Anti-Mage will be something everyone will talk about for a while." He laughed. "You look like a nice pair, though. And I guess it is somehow sweet that at least one of you has learned to smile." He finished his drink and winked at Magina. Then he held his hand out, first to Kael and then to Magina. "It was nice meeting you. When the talk on the street gets too much, come here. This is the tavern of the odd ones so you don't stick out too much. At least the Anti-Mage doesn't. You are way too pretty, mage."

With a last wave in their direction he left.

But he was right, Magina thought. They drew even less attention here then on the street. But they were not here to drink. At least, not only. So he took Kael's hand and together they went exploring again.

And now they could hear the whispers all around them. The race had surely sped up the talk about the Invoker and the Anti-Mage and it must have circulated around the whole fair by now. Many pairs of eyes were watching them but Magina ignored them. It wasn't as if he had ever cared what people thought about him so he wouldn't start now. And it was better to get the information about them flowing now so when they would go out the next time, it wouldn't be so extraordinary anymore.

They stopped at a tent were they could participate in some game. They had to throw rings onto a moving turtle with a stick on its back. They scored when they hit the sticks so the rings remained on the turtle's back. It was the first game of many they played and Magina discovered that he wasn't very good at most of those games and Kael beat him in every single one. He didn't mind though, because it was fun nonetheless. He laughed much and at some point he didn't notice the creatures around him anymore. He loved to watch Kael and he was astonished again that this gorgeous man was his. That he had wanted to be with him and had invited him to stay with him in his home.

He was so beautiful, everyone else paled in comparison to him. And when he couldn't take it anymore, Magina pulled him into the gap between two tents and kissed him. Kael responded immediately, kissing him back and pulling him tight against his body, and Magina was reminded why they had both started to wear only shirt and pants on the platform in the sky. He could feel almost nothing through all those layers of cloth between them.

When they parted, they were both breathing hard.

"The fair was a good idea." Kael said.

"Why, don't tell me you have fun winning against me all the time."

And, Magina's heart stopped for a beat, he _smiled_. It was only the hint of one but, god help him, Kael'thas the Invoker was definitely smiling!

He could only stare, unable to believe it. Then he grinned.

"I think it was a good idea, too. You want to go home or stay a little longer?"

"Let's see if we played all games, yet. I'd like to try them all before we leave." He was still smiling a little. Magina was delighted. He took his face in both hands and brushed with his thumbs against the corners of Kael's mouth. "I love you."

His eyes widened and his smile vanished for a second, before it returned full force. "I was afraid you were never going to say it. I love you, too."

They stood like that, smiling at each other, like some idiots.

"I changed my mind," Kael said. "Let's go home. We can return some other time to do the remaining games." He kissed Magina and while they were pressed against each other, they used the Hearth Stone to port home. It had been a wonderful day, and it was followed by a wonderful night.


	14. The Fight

The Anti-Mage dodged one of the fireballs the Invoker hurled at him. It was extremely close and he could feel the heat the magical missile emanated. He kept a straight face though and blinked forward, near enough to slice through the robes of the mage in front of him. He would have cut flesh, too, hadn't the Invoker reacted so quickly.

The Anti-Mage was lifted in the air by a magical tornado and slammed onto the ground. It hurt like hell but when the meteor, almost always following the tornado, came rolling towards him, he simply sidestepped it and went for the elf again. His next attack almost severed the arm off the Invoker but he turned his body to the side to avoid the blade. It was the perfect move - for the Anti-Mage. It brought him in striking distance of both of his weapons. A second before he could use this advantage, the mage turned invisible.

 _Dust_ , he thought, _I need Dust of Appearance_. That would make the elf visible again. Now he had to wait and hope that he would attack again and hadn't fled the fight. Since the mage was no coward, he used the advantage of his invisibility to circle around the Anti-Mage and attack him from behind.

Only one of the fire balls hit him before he had blinked in front of the mage again. He was fast and he was relentless. He would never give up. The Invoker was stronger, especially since they didn't have the use of additional weapons, charms, armour or the like, but what the Anti-Mage lacked in power he compensated with endurance and will. No wonder he was feared by all mages.

This time the Anti-Mage changed tactics and before the Invoker could react, he had rammed his shoulder into the elf, making him stagger backwards. He followed, feinted a hit to his head while kicking his legs away from under his body.

The mage crashed, hissing through clenched teeth. He tried to roll to the side and get to his feet again but the Anti-Mage was faster. Dropping his weapons, his pinned the elf to the ground. Grabbing his wrists with both hands, he used the weight of his body to hold him down.

Only then, face to face, their noses almost touching, he smiled. "Got you."

The Invoker sighed. "You cheated." He tried to tug his hands free but the Anti-Mage increased the pressure. "I don't think so." He was a little smaller than the elf but he was heavier, due to his muscled body. And to be fair, it didn't feel as if the man was really trying to get free.

"Magina." The mage narrowed his eyes. "Get off me."

"But I have you right where I want you." The Anti-Mage lowered his head until his lips brushed the shell of the elf's ear. He whispered, knowing exactly what it did to the mage to have his breath stroking over his sensitive ear. "Underneath me and fully at my mercy."

And _yes_ , the mage shivered slightly while biting his lip to stop from making a sound. Magina smiled and began to nuzzle the skin at his neck, just underneath his ear. He took both of the Invoker's wrists in one hand while he let the other wander down his body, searching for a way to get under all those layers of cloth. Lucky for him that he had hit him earlier with his blade, because it had left a wide gap in the robes of the mage. "Kael, you really have to stop wearing so many clothes. It always takes _hours_ to get you out of them."

"But you like that, don't you? It heightens the anticipation." The Invoker arched his back, getting more pressure on his wrists and pushing his body full length against Magina. He was right. Since they had eternity together, the Anti-Mage loved to take his time, teasing the Invoker - and himself – until they couldn't take it anymore, until the mage begged him for mercy.

It was perfect. There was probably no one in the world who had thought it possible, but the Invoker and the Anti-Mage were really good together.

Magina smiled down at Kael. Then he kissed him.


End file.
